Thursday Morning
by Spacefille
Summary: A wish for more Saiyans goes awry and Gohan wakes up to find he is no longer a he. Piccolo is charged with protecting his former student from two full-blooded Saiyans who would be more than happy to help him carry on the Saiyan race. PiccoloxGohan
1. In Distress

Thursday Morning

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**Author's Note**: Switches to female pronouns pretty much right away, mostly to not cause confusion later on. Also might have pronoun errors throughout. I tried to catch them all.

**Pairings (main)**: Piccolo/Gohan, Vegeta/Gohan

**Other pairings**: Vegeta/Bulma (established relationship). Might have Goku/Vegeta. Tiny bit of very one-sided Goku/Gohan.

**Warnings**: HET. Hints of non-con, but not really. Angst. M/M later, though that really isn't a warning.

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**In Distress**

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Vegeta had found the entire situation amusing at first. He had just finished breakfast and walked into the living room to find Goten roughhousing with his own son. It took him a moment to put it together, why Goten's scent was slightly off, why his eyes looked larger and his face looked a little different. When he ended up in a choke hold with Trunks crowing triumphantly over him and with a knee where there was no possible way it could be without some sort of pain on the behalf of the younger Son boy… he got it.

The damn brat had turned himself into a girl somehow.

He figured out how they had managed to do that pretty quickly too. Dragonballs of course, it had to be. Though why Goten in particular wanted to be a girl he had no idea. He was about to dismiss it as something silly children got up to when Kakarrot winked into existence a few feet away from him.

He hated it when he did that.

Vegeta was about to lay into him about what his ridiculous offspring had done when he paused, his eyes carrying to the tall, slender, dark-haired woman standing at Kakarrot's side. This one took him a moment to even recognize.

"Go-Gohan?" he stuttered out, unable to retain his surprise. The moment he said it he knew it was him of course, his features were off, but not that far off, but the hips and the shape was definitely not male. And, to make matters worse is he could smell "him". He was definitely a she. She gave him an embarrassed look and a little wave.

Vegeta scowled. Suddenly this wasn't so funny any longer.

.

Gohan was not having a good day. To start it off, he woke up that morning to discover he was definitely a she, and then her dad freaked out. Literally, but then her dad always did have a tendency to exaggerate. Screaming and falling on the floor in disbelief seemed a bit excessive though.

Then her dad decided to take her to Vegeta's right away, a person she absolutely did NOT want to see right then.

To prove her point, as soon as she got there Vegeta stared at her like she was some alien creature from another planet, which she supposed she was all things considered, then got grumpy really fast. He turned away from them both to go stand in a corner of the room, glowering.

She then noticed her brother. Her brother… wasn't a brother any longer. For a moment when she arrived she thought maybe Goten had fallen victim to whatever had happened to turn her into a girl. That is, until Trunks and Goten started giggling when they saw her. "Look, the wish made him a girl too!" Trunks exclaimed happily. Goten laughed, clapping his… _her_ little eight year old hands together with delight.

Oh, so that's what happened. "WHAT did you wish?" Gohan demanded to know, her voice harsher than the kids expected.

They startled into silence very briefly, and twin pairs of eyes stared owlishly up at him. "We just wished there would be more kids like us!" Goten defended.

"You… you turned me into a GIRL!" Gohan roared, temper snapping as she strode forwards. Goku caught his 'son''s arm before she could deck her younger 'brother'. Goten squealed and ducked behind Trunks. That made Trunks puff up in defense.

"Well it kind of worked," Trunks said. "Goten and I will have to just make more kids when we're old enough," he looked proud of himself and Goten nodded eagerly.

Gohan visibly paled. "You have no idea what you're saying," she said, taking a step back again. She looked up at Vegeta at that. The prince raised an eyebrow at her and Gohan looked away quickly, then groaned as she stumbled over to the couch and sat down heavily. "Four months, right?" she asked no one in particular this time. "Then I can have my body back?" Obviously her body would have to be wished back, but if the children hadn't made any more wishes besides the first one she could get her body back in four months. If they used all three, she'd be trapped in a woman's body for a year…

There was silence in the room, the two children stilling. "But, Gohan don't you want to…" Goten began, but fell silent as both his own father and Vegeta glared at her. Vegeta was scary when he was mad, and the youngest Son child shifted uncomfortably.

Vegeta looked away from the brat and spoke up in a lower voice meant for the two eldest Sons. "The incubation period for a Saiyan baby is six months," he said calmly. "With your human genes, it might be closer to seven or eight…" he paused when both Goku and Gohan stared at him with twin expressions of incredulous disbelief.

"… You can't actually be suggesting I get PREGNANT," Gohan exclaimed. When Vegeta didn't answer she threw her hands in the air. "God, I have a GIRLFRIEND…" she put her head in her hands. "What am I going to tell Videl?"

Vegeta was quiet for a moment longer, then continued when it was apparent Gohan wasn't going to keep ranting. "If the terms of the wish were to produce more half-breed brats," he shot a look over at Trunks. "And Trunks we WILL be discussing this later," he turned back to Gohan. "You might not have a choice."

Kakarrot squawked at that, Gohan still had her face in her hands. "Choice, Vegeta?" Goku exclaimed. "What do you mean?"

Vegeta sighed and shook his head. "… It's been a very long time since I've seen a live female Saiyan," he said quietly. "But, if I remember correctly, and if Gohan takes after your side, Kakarrot… he… _she_'ll cycle," when Kakarrot stared at him dumbly, and Vegeta made a rude gesture with his hand. "Heat. She'll go into heat, look for a mate, and stop at nothing until she finds one and gets impregnated," he stared at the ceiling for a moment. "It usually happened only once every few years or so, but with a wish like that, I wouldn't be surprised," he stopped again and sniffed the air, then paused and sniffed again. He looked up at Gohan with a grim expression on his face. "In fact, you might have already started."

Gohan had slowly looked up from her hands as he spoke, the expression on her face becoming more and more aghast. With that last statement she looked like she was about to faint. "You're not joking," she said tonelessly.

Vegeta frowned at her - he never joked - then snapped his focus up at Kakarrot. "No," he said. "And, unfortunately for you, there are still two full-blooded male Saiyans here who will be happy to oblige you, once it progresses."

Gohan flinched, her eyes wide and horrified as she stared up at Vegeta. Vegeta met her gaze and looked away again, unable to hold it.

Kakarrot had put on his serious business face. "Vegeta, he's my _son... _well ah, daughter," he looked confused for a moment, then pressed on. "You can't possibly suggest I'd..."

Vegeta flashed him a toothy grin that came across a bit more like a grimace than anything. "You say that now Kakarrot, but you have no idea what you would be capable of if faced with a Saiyan bitch in heat," he paused significantly, then sighed, deflating a bit. "I don't even know what I'm capable of," he admitted. "I was five when our home planet was destroyed. But what I DO remember… wasn't exactly," he shot a glance at the two younger children and folded his arms across his chest. "Acceptable by human standards," he finished, knowing that Kakarrot and Gohan would catch his drift without telling the children exactly what he meant. He knew violence was part of who they were, and what he had seen would have been perfectly acceptable both on his home planet and even under Frieza's rule, but here… the humans didn't understand these things. All three of the children, Gohan included, had been raised here, softened by human morals and civility.

Gohan got it at least. "Oh my God," she said quietly into the heavy silence.

Goten actually looked shamefaced as she shifted about. She didn't understand a lot of what was going on, but what she did understand wasn't very good. It sounded like Gohan was going to have to become pregnant, and either Uncle Vegeta or her Dad were going to attack her because of it. And now Gohan looked really worried and almost sick. "I'm sorry, Gohan," she said in a small voice, clinging to Trunk's arm. Gohan just looked at her.

Trunks patted Goten's back reassuringly. "Yeah," he spoke up. "We just wanted more kids like us to play with and stuff, we didn't know it'd hurt anyone."

Gohan shook her head. She didn't reply to either child, but she pulled her focus back to Vegeta. "Do you think Bulma might be able to concoct something to counteract the effects of the… that heat thing?" she asked.

Vegeta blinked. He hadn't considered that. "That… might work actually," he said. He thought for a moment longer. "And if it doesn't… I remember one case when a cycle didn't result in pregnancy," he frowned, trying to recall the details. He had been very young at the time... "One of our purgers got trapped on a planet with no way off. I believe she was half dead by the time they found her three months later, but her cycle was through. What if…" he trailed off then started again as he thought. "What if we put you into the Time Chamber? If you can make it three months in there you don't have to worry about pregnancy… no matter what that wish said," he glared at the children, then glanced at Kakarrot. The other full blooded Saiyan nodded.

Gohan didn't look too happy about that. "Three months in there?" she repeated. "Alone?"

"Ask the Namekian to keep you company," Vegeta said, and promptly ignored her protest about Piccolo seeing her as a girl. "The cycle might not be so bad for you," he continued. "You're half human after all." He pushed away from the wall and gestured to both of the older Sons to leave the room. "Go," he said, "Bulma's down in her lab. I'll stay up here and have a talk with the children." He glared at the pair.

Both Trunks and Goten cowered a bit. Goku merely nodded and sighed, then gestured Gohan to follow him as he turned to leave the room.

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Bulma gave her a half glance as she walked by, focused on a computer pad in her hand. "Oh hi Goku, Gohan," she greeted. She got a couple more steps before suddenly stopping on a dime. She turned back again quickly. "EHAAHHHH!" she screamed.

Gohan blushed and stared at her feet. "Yes, I know," she said. She raised her head again. "Wait until you see my brother," she added.

Bulma looked like she was hyperventilating but calmed by degrees. "So that was the wish we saw last night?" she asked Goku, having been up late enough to seen the sky darken.

Goku nodded, folding his arms across his chest and leaning into the door frame.

Gohan glowered. "Your son and my brother thought it would be a great idea to wish for more children like them. Which somehow had to involve me becoming… this," she made a hand gesture down at himself.

Bulma took that in with wide eyes. "Oh," she said, and then let out a small giggle.

"It's not funny," Gohan said. "If what Vegeta said was right, I'm going to be spending the next couple months fighting off both him _and _my father," she stuck her thumb behind herself at her dad.

"Oh," Bulma said. She caught the uncomfortable look Goku's face and read between the lines.

This was much more serious than she thought. She sobered up and straightened. "What do you want me to do?" she asked.

Gohan sighed and ran a hand thought her short hair. Discussing with Bulma strategies to prevent herself from being raped by her own father because she was suddenly a woman was not something she had planned to do on a Thursday morning. Or, really, ever. "Do you think you can find a way to counteract it? Like," she thought back to science class and her study notes on biology. "If I start producing a whole bunch of hormones, you could inject me with something…" Bulma was nodding slowly.

"Yes, that might work…" she trailed off. "But I don't have a blood samples from a normal Saiyan female. If I had some sort of template maybe…"

Gohan nodded. "Oh!" she said quickly. "What about Goten?"

She could tell Bulma was trying not to laugh again. "Okay," she said, suppressing her smile. "Get him… ah, her, in here," she paused. "Actually bring Vegeta and Trunks too. I'll take blood samples from all of you."

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A few hours later found Gohan sitting on top of a table in Bulma's lab, covered in a thin sheet and twitching despite herself. The rest of her family and the Briefs family had been let go nearly right away, but Bulma had asked her to stay.

A couple minutes previous Bulma had walked over to place a hand on Gohan's forehead with concern. She then drew yet another vial of blood and left again. Gohan laid back and stared at the ceiling, trying to meditate, but it wasn't doing anything at all to stop the twitching.

Which she was. She moaned softly, feeling sweat slide slowly down one temple. Between her legs burned and tingled… and she got it. She got it even though she absolutely did not want to get it.

Vegeta had been right that morning. The wish had apparently wasted no time. She felt like every nerve ending was on fire, and it was taking everything she had to not stick her hand down her pants and play with her new girl bits.

Right now she wanted to murder her little brother. Sister. Whatever Goten was. Dead. That was what she was. Gohan should be in school right now, and decidedly NOT a woman, not running a fever, and not NOW worrying about whether her dad or Vegeta were going to suddenly walk in and…

"Hi Gohan!"

Oh shit.

Gohan sat up ramrod straight and let out a holler, yanking the sheet up over herself. Goku stood at the door of the lab, a puzzled frown on his face. "Gohan, I just wanted to know how you were…" he trailed off and paused.

And sniffed. He breathed in deeply once, twice, puzzled frown on his face growing. His eyes widened suddenly. "Gohan, you're…"

"Get OUT of here, Dad!" Gohan yelled.

Goku stood absolutely still. Then his chin lowered and he smirked at her.

If that wasn't the creepiest thing she had ever seen, Gohan wasn't sure what was. This time she yelled as loud as she could. The new female voice made for quite a nice high pitched scream, and even Goku winced a bit, though it didn't deter him much as the smirk turned into an all out grin and he stepped forwards.

Gohan looked desperately about the lab. She wondered if she could still power up. She'd end up blowing up half the lab if she fought her father in here. If only she could get to the door…

And then Goku went from leering at her to keeled over clenching his gut.

Gohan blinked. She hadn't seen what had happened but it wasn't too hard to figure out. Vegeta stood there, with a worried looking Bulma standing behind him. Gohan's eyes widened. "Vegeta?" she questioned. Alarm bells started to go off in her head. Shit. If they were BOTH here…

The look Vegeta shot her was cryptic, but lucid. He looked back down at man at his feet. "Get up," the smaller Saiyan barked, yanking her father up by his hair.

"Ow, Vegeta," Goku whined, but that earned him a slap across the face.

"Get Piccolo here, now," Vegeta snapped, shaking him a little. "Teleport. We need to get Gohan into that Time Chamber before YOU do something you'll regret."

Thankfully that seemed to get through her Dad's head. He shot a wide-eyed look in Gohan's direction, then pressed his fingers to his forehead and disappeared.

Gohan got it. There just hadn't been enough time, it had been, what, five hours since morning? There was no way Bulma would have found a cure by now. So that meant they were going to plan B. Suddenly plan B wasn't looking so bad if it meant her Dad wouldn't look at her like that. She got to her feet, a bit surprised she was shaky on them. "I can get there myself…" she began.

Vegeta actually stepped back from her and snarled, the look on his face hostile. "You'll stay right there until the Namek gets here," he ordered, pointing for her to sit down. Gohan sat. "And then I don't want to see you again until you're done," he backed up until he was against the wall and stood there, arms folded across his chest.

"Vegeta, maybe you should…" Bulma began.

Vegeta shot her a look that would have quelled any lesser being and possibly a couple of Gods too. "Shut up, woman!" he snarled, but then the look on his face softened as hurt and fury flashed across her face. She did not like being yelled at. "I have it, Bulma," Vegeta said quietly, his tone conciliatory. "It's not so bad yet. In another hour maybe. Go back to work."

"…" Bulma sighed and reluctantly backed down. She glared at Vegeta before giving Gohan an apologetic look and turning to leave the room.

"I really do _not_ want this to be happening," Gohan groaned once she was gone.

The expression on Vegeta's face wasn't outright hostile now, though the guardedness remained. "I know you don't, Gohan," he said. "That's why I sent your witless father off to…"

At that moment said witless father winked back into existence with a large, very familiar Namek in tow.

"Gohan?" he questioned, turning his gaze to his former student.

"Piccolo!" Gohan exclaimed. She had never been so relieved to see her old friend and teacher in a very long time and right at that particular moment didn't give a crap if he saw her as a girl. She threw herself off the bed and at the Namekian, tripping and collapsing against him as her new limbs decided they hated her.

Piccolo hoisted her up and wrapped his arms around her protectively. All Goku had said was that they needed his help before someone hurt Gohan and if he'd please come quickly.

There was nothing like walking in on a giant puzzle and trying to put the pieces together. Gohan was obviously female now, he got that, and that must have had something to do with the wish the night before. Vegeta was tense as hell, his ki fluctuating slightly, and Goku was both worried AND aroused… he didn't know much about human or Saiyan reproduction, but he could smell such things. Come to think of it, Gohan was aroused too. She was also anxious, he could sense, and just a little bit frightened. She was currently shooting wary looks in the directions of both Vegeta and her father.

What… the hell. When Goku had said Gohan had needed protecting, they couldn't possibly have meant… he shot a look at Vegeta.

"Get her to the Time Chamber and throw her in there," Vegeta ordered. "Before Kakarrot or I do something we'd regret."

Piccolo's eyes narrowed. "You _wouldn't_," he hissed, tightening his grip on Gohan slightly. He wasn't nearly as strong as either full blooded Saiyan, but if he had to he'd defend Gohan to the death.

Vegeta raised an eyebrow at him. "Not like you're thinking, Namek," he said haughtily. "I think you'd find she'd quite enjoy it, actually. But I don't think she… HE'd appreciate it in the morning," he stepped over to Goku and grabbed him by the arm, yanking him forcefully towards the door. "Let's spar Kakarrot," he said, his voice leaving no room for argument. Goku let himself be lead away reluctantly.

Piccolo waited until they had both cleared the room before turning his gaze down to his former student. Wide black eyes stared up at him. It was a bit jarring but, it was Gohan, her ki, though low, hadn't changed all that much, even if her human shape had. "Are you okay?" he asked.

Gohan nodded. "Yeah," she said. "Yeah. Thanks for coming to get me," she added.

Piccolo nodded back. "No problem," he replied. "You can fill me in on the details on the way back to Dende's," he added.

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	2. The Demon Inside

**The Demon Inside**

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Piccolo carefully stepped over the threshold into the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. Being a former God meant he could come and go as he pleased, and for that he was grateful.

The first thing he noticed was the smell. It was strong and heady and almost oppressing. Piccolo wrinkled his nose as he made his way further into the room, concern growing at each step he took. The place was a mess. The kitchen looked like a hurricane had hit it, and the bedroom wasn't much better… items from the kitchen littered the floor, and not one of the sheets or blankets remained on the wide double bed.

But the most worrisome thing was the ki. He could sense Gohan, but the ki signature was low and felt sickly. His heart quickened. It had only been about a half an hour… a little more than a week in here… was it possible that Gohan had degraded that quickly?

"Gohan?" he questioned, walking about the room, looking for her. Tendrils of concern began to creep into his mind. A moment later he found her, lying beside the bed on the other side of it, on top of some of the sheets that should have been on the bed. He stopped for a moment, his eyes wide.

The young now female Saiyan lay on her back, naked and completely drenched in sweat as she writhed against the sheets. One hand knotted into the fabric as the other one was occupied between her legs, rubbing slowly as she moaned. For a very brief moment Piccolo considered walking right back out again, if it wasn't for the weak ki and the unnatural sheen in her eyes he might have. Frowning, he walked up to her and knelt. He ignored what she was doing to herself to focus on her face and pressed a green hand to her forehead, smoothing matted black bangs out of her eyes. "Gohan," he said.

Gohan stilled, her hand going limp. Hazed eyes blinked up at him in confusion. "Piccolo?" she replied.

Piccolo grunted, and she gulped, turning her head to the side. "It burns," she said. The hand started to move again and reddened lips fell open as she gasped. Piccolo smoothed his hand down the side of her face and she turned her head to look at him again. This time there were tears in her eyes. "I can't…" she began. She still again and looked away, her hand falling to her side. She bit her bottom lip. "How long has it been?" she asked.

"A week." That got her to snap out of it a bit. Gohan stared at him, wide eyed now.

"Only? Oh god," she said, horrified. "Vegeta said…"

"I know," Piccolo sighed and looked her up and down briefly, before deciding. He leaned down and gathered the girl up in his arms.

"Where?" Gohan began, but she figured it out fairly darn quickly. The space was rather tiny.

Piccolo walked across the room and set her carefully down into the bath tub. "You don't have to…" Gohan began, but Piccolo ignored her, instead reaching out to turn on the faucets.

The Namekian sat back and watched as she bathed herself by herself for the most part, concern growing as he saw that every move she made was stilted and slow. "I'm worried about you," he said and he watched her wearily wipe the sweat from her face and shoulders with the cloth. "Your ki is quite low," he said.

Gohan paused, blinking water from her eyes, then sighed, dropping her arms and the cloth back in to the water. "That might just be the effect of this…" she shrugged half heartedly.

Piccolo folded his arms across his chest and glowered. "I thought this was for reproduction."

Gohan looked at him, flushing a little as she did so. "It is," she replied.

"Then why is it harming you?" Piccolo asked.

Gohan stared at him mutely for a moment. Finally she dropped her gaze back to her lap. "Probably because…" she heaved a sigh. "I need to get laid," she muttered. She groaned and as Piccolo watched, she slipped down into the water so that only her nose and eyes were above the surface.

This came as very hard to him and he grit his teeth. If Gohan was going to suffer this much, then maybe it would be best to get one of the other two Saiyans involved. "I can go get…"

"No, don't!" Gohan struggled to sit back up, failed, and ended up flailing about in the water weakly. Piccolo stood and grasped her arm, pulling her out and back into a sitting position.

Gohan gave him a small smile. "Thanks," she said.

Piccolo frowned, then slowly let go of his grip once he saw that she was stable. "If you get much worse…" he began.

Gohan shut her eyes and drew a shaky breath. "… Yeah," she said in a very small voice. "Yeah, I know."

Piccolo reached down touched the side of Gohan's face again. She turned her head and looked up at him and Piccolo could see that there were tears in her eyes again. She reached up, wrapping her hands around his elbow and wrist and buried her face against his arm. "I just want this to be over," she muttered.

Piccolo combed the fingers of his free hand through her hair, frowning as he thought. There would have to be a point, a limit where he'd have to go get help… but, if she didn't want it, it would have to be the absolute last resort. Maybe even not then… he didn't know if he could violate Gohan's trust like that. He grimaced. He hated feeling helpless, and that was exactly where he was right now…

.

The next time he came she was worse, not that that was really unexpected. He had cooked food the last time and had placed it beside the bed, he could see it had barely been touched and was starting to turn moldy from being left alone for days. Gohan was still on the bed this time, but the sheets were ruined, twisted and drenched from where the girl gyrated against them unceasingly.

"Gohan," he started, touching the side her face like he had the first time. This time she gasped, unoccupied hand coming up to trap his hand against her as she pressed chapped and bitten lips to his palm.

"Please," she muttered.

She wasn't all there. "Gohan," he repeated, reaching out with his other hand to shake her shoulder.

That didn't work. She cried out, removing her hand from inside of herself to reach up and loop it around his neck. "_Please_," she repeated, pulling Piccolo down towards her. He moved his hand to brace it on the bed beside her so he wouldn't fall on top of her.

Apparently that just made her decide to come to him. She lifted her hips, rolling towards him and rubbing up against his hip, gasping with delight as her overly sensitive skin made contact with the rough fabric of his clothes.

Piccolo moved quickly. In a second he had pinned her with one hand against her shoulder and another against her opposite hip. He didn't do it roughly, but it was enough to still her as she was far too weak to move against his hold.

"Gohan!" he repeated.

Gohan blinked, her eyes clearing by degrees. Her brow wrinkled. "Piccolo?" she said faintly. "Is that you?"

"You haven't been eating," Piccolo replied.

Gohan looked confused, then blinked again. "I don't feel like it," she said.

Piccolo actually let out a low growl at that. "You can't keep this up if you don't eat," he said.

She just looked at him.

Piccolo sighed and let her go. He got up, cleaned the room again with a small concentration of power and walked over to the kitchen. He warmed up a soup with another burst of ki, and then carried it back to the bed.

She was finger fucking herself with both hands now.

Piccolo sighed again. With a flick of his wrist he shoved her hands away from herself and another flick moved her into a sitting up position with pillows braced behind her to keep her up. Gohan groaned.

"You are going to eat this," he stated as he sat back on the edge of the bed. She gave him a somewhat desperate look.

He ignored it, contemplated her for a moment, then transfigured the bowl he held into a cup. He held it against her mouth. "Swallow," he ordered.

She did, or tried, choking softly as some escaped from the corner of her month. He paused and let her recover.

"More," he ordered, and she swallowed a couple gulps more before choking again. Sweat lined her brow as she tried to concentrate. Gohan had always been a fighter, he reflected grimly, reaching out and wiping her brow.

"It's hard," she confessed finally.

Piccolo nodded. He let her go slowly, getting up from the bed and going back to the kitchen. The former God grabbed a cloth and a cup of water before going back to the bed.

Gohan was touching herself again. Piccolo would have rolled his eyes if it wasn't so serious. Instead he sat back down and reached out, cleaning her face with the cloth.

Her eyes were slightly glazed again as she turned her head to look at him.

"It burns really bad, Piccolo," she said piteously. For a brief moment Piccolo was reminded of when she… when _he_ was a child, a four year old crying out in the night for parents that were never going to come and save him. Back when he had suddenly found himself taking care of a life, of a person who loved him unconditionally, who didn't care who or what he was. Ever since then he couldn't stand to see him suffer… he grit his teeth and put down the cloth.

The next words took him by complete surprise. "I wish it were you," Piccolo's head jerked up and he stared at her.

The expression on her face was serious and solemn. "I do," she added.

Piccolo was silent for a moment as he collected his thoughts. The idea of doing anything with Gohan didn't bother him. In fact if he were Saiyan he could do something, and it would probably be easier on his young charge. But he wasn't… and being a Namekian complicated matters further.

"I'm not Saiyan," he said, shaking his head. "I can't give you what you need."

"I know," she reached up towards him with a trembling hand. He leaned down without thinking, allowing her much smaller hand trace along the side of his jaw and up towards a pointed ear. When she tugged on it he went without protest, allowing her to pull him down. For a moment she contemplated him, then leaned up, pressing a kiss to his alien lips.

He let her kiss him, several times, her hands running along his neck and shoulders. Her breathing sped up as she became more excited. One of her hands had returned to herself, dipping inside as she clung to Piccolo's neck and pressed an open mouthed kiss to his jaw. He moved his head upwards slightly, allowed her access. She continued until she let out a choked sound and let him go suddenly, falling back on the bed.

He pulled away to look at her. She shook her head. "I'm sorry," she said, looking wretched. "I'm sorry Piccolo, I just…" she clenched her teeth and turned her head away from him.

"Gohan," he reached down, turning her head back to look at him. "It's okay."

She looked confused and a little scared. "But I just…"

Piccolo sighed and got to his feet, standing briefly to pull off his turban and cape. The shoulder pads fell to the floor with a resounding thud. He then turned back and got into the bed beside her.

Gohan stared at him, her eyes wide. "Piccolo?" she squeaked.

Piccolo shook his head slightly. He didn't know much about this stuff, but he did know Gohan, and Gohan – especially this Gohan - craved physical contact. Sure enough when he held out an arm she only hesitated a moment before moving into his embrace, looping one of her own arms around his torso. Her other hand drifted back to between her legs.

"I feel dirty," she groaned as that hand hit home.

"I'll run you another bath in a bit," Piccolo grunted in reply. He knew what she meant, he could pick up on some of her chaotic thoughts and sense her shame, but he refused to acknowledge it. Being ashamed of this would be the same as him being ashamed of being hatched out of an egg. It was silly and inconsequential.

She laughed at his remark, then bit her lip, her eyes drifting closed. She leaned up again, kissing him along the jaw, then moved up to his mouth. He followed her lead, allowing her to deepen the kiss. Her hand carried up to his neck, tugging him closer, and he rolled with her. He ended up half on top of her, half to the side. She looped her long legs around one of his own, grinding up against his still clothed thigh as her tongue explored his mouth. She broke away to gasp as her hip motions increased to a frantic pace, teeth biting into her bottom lip again as she tensed, then let out a long low keening whine before going limp completely.

He stroked a hand down her side as her breathing slowed. When she finally calmed down enough to speak she turned her head to look at him and smiled shyly. "Thank you," she said.

He shrugged. "All I did was kiss you," he pointed out. She had literally done the rest of the work.

Now it was her turn to shrug. She looked a bit sheepish. "Never been kissed before," she said after a moment. "Er… like that at least."

Piccolo almost smiled at that. He gave her an enduring look, then looked down to where his hand rested against her rib cage, thumb against the side of one of her breasts. "How long until you start again?" he asked.

Gohan sighed. "Minutes," she said. "Maybe."

Piccolo nodded. "Now will you eat?" he asked.

She laughed weakly at that.

.

She did eat some after that, and allowed him run her a bath. Her motions were slow and sluggish and increasing jerky as she tried to wash herself. He finally took over, running the cloth over her with gentle but efficient strokes.

She smiled her gratitude. Her eyes were drifting closed as he brought her back to the bed. She was asleep by the time he laid her down in it.

He contemplated her. After a moments consideration he decided to stay and watch over her. He nodded to himself and tucked his legs under himself in order to hover in a corner of the room where he had a clear view of the bed.

He was beginning to see the problem later on that night. She didn't sleep. Or rather she slept for minutes at a time, only to wake up and start again, moaning and sighing and touching herself. That would last for hours until she finally reached the same peak as she had earlier when he had been with her, and would fall into an exhausted sleep again. Then she'd wake up, be coherent briefly before starting all over again.

One of the times she had stumbled out of the bed, crawled across the floor to the other room to the facilities to relieve herself, only to give out a few feet away from the bed and began again there. Now he knew why he found her on the floor the first time he had come in.

By the time a day had past he had seen five of these cycles. Each time a cycle was coming to an end her ki would spike briefly, only to dip to new lows as she fell into a fitful sleep. After the first couple cycles he started to take advantage of her brief moments when she wasn't occupied with herself… one of the cycles he gotten her to drink more water, another he convinced her to get back on the bed.

He was beginning to understand what the human concept of a headache was. This was… madness. Pure and simple. It hadn't even been two weeks, and if what Gohan had said was right… that there were three months of this, her body was going to give out before she reached the end of a month, let alone three months. Even with a Saiyan's nearly unlimited stamina, there was no way…

One day turned into another, and then another. Piccolo left her alone as he continued to watch her. Gohan didn't seem to even notice his presence, and since he only approached her in the small windows of brevity, she didn't touch or kiss him again. He didn't know if he should feel disappointed or not, and decided that it didn't matter.

By the forth day he noticed it. She was stopping. It had gotten to the point where she didn't even have the strength to raise her arms for longer than a few minutes at a time, with increasingly long pauses between. She'd still need to finish however… she would lie there, tense and breathing rapidly, until she gathered enough strength to try again. When she finally got there she would pass out immediately, though the time between sleeping and being awake didn't change.

She hardly moved on the bed any more. It was… painful to watch. Even so, he didn't interfere. He waited. At one point during a break he carried her to the facilities and another made her drink more water. He tried to make her eat too, but she spat it back up again and coughed weakly. Tired eyes met his own. "I'm… sorry Piccolo," she said. He patted her shoulder reassuringly – he wasn't upset at her - and cleaned it up.

He went back to waiting.

By the end of the sixth day she gave up. He saw the exact moment she did it too… she had been trying to move for literally hours. Her pulse was high, breathing fast, but she couldn't move her hands more than a couple inches. She was literally helpless. She had cried tears of frustration. Those dried and she still couldn't move.

"Piccolo…" She said in a low voice he would have been pressed to catch if his hearing wasn't as good as it was. He broke out of his meditation hover with a small sigh of relief and walked over to the bed.

He looked down at her. "I need you to…" she probably would have flushed if she wasn't already.

He sighed again. Well, at least he knew exactly what to do from watching her spend days doing this to herself. He hesitated, then crouched down, reaching out and running his fingers through her hair again. He quite enjoyed doing that. She moaned slightly at the mere contact, panting heavily as she looked up at him out of glazed eyes. He paused and held up his other hand, concentrating. The claws on his fingers absorbed back into his body, leaving smooth digits in their place. He brought that hand down and touched her. She let out a small cry, and her body moved, or rather tried to move against him. He turned his gaze back to her face to make sure he wasn't doing anything to hurt her as he slowly sunk two fingers inside of her. Her eyes slid closed as he began to slide those in and out, using his thumb to stimulate her on the outside. It took less than a minute before she tensed and let out a small cry, and the slick warmth around his fingers pulsed.

Then her ki plummeted.

"GOHAN," he exclaimed, yanking his hand away to grasp her shoulders, shaking her. For a few very tense seconds her ki faded to almost nothing, and it looked like the girl had stopped breathing. Piccolo stared, horrified, at the still form he held.

He was just about to put her down again to try to give her a flood of his own ki in a desperate attempt to revive her, when her ki flickered back on its own. She drew a gasping breath, eyes fluttering open again.

"Gohan," he repeated. He grasped her chin and moved it up so that she would look at him.

Her eyes met his own, wide eyed and scared for a moment, and then understanding flooded them. She either read the look on Piccolo's face or felt how close she had come.

"I'm not going to make it," she said. The expression on her face was wretched. She twitched in his arms but wasn't able to do much. "I can't even move anymore," she continued, stating the obvious.

Piccolo was silent. He said nothing, but he knew what the next step would be. Would have to be, and even then in her state it was a gamble. If that happened again, would she die? "I shouldn't have let this go on so long," he said bitterly.

/You let me try to make it on my own, and you've helped me in more ways than you can imagine,/ Piccolo blinked down at Gohan. She had opened up the telepathic link he had used with her a couple times before when she was a child, and had done it with considerable ease.

/Gohan,/ he thought back at her.

Gohan's eyes opened, confused for a second, then smiled. /You can hear me?/ she thought. /Good,/ she added. /It takes a lot of effort to speak right now./

Piccolo let out a small laugh at that as he carefully gathered the still body up in his arms. The warmth of the link made the tension in his body dissipate. Gohan might have been weak and mostly immobile in his arms but the mental link told him that Gohan was alive and vibrant and well. The relief he felt was incredible.

/I'm taking you back outside,/ he thought at Gohan as he started to make his way towards the door. /I'm sorry./

Gohan knew what he was sorry for and understood. /It's okay,/ she thought back, though the mind link briefly became tinged with anxiety and sadness.

/Which would you prefer?/ Piccolo thought at him and hating that he had to ask. He opened the door and stepped out of it and into the light.

/Let them decide,/ Gohan replied, and meant it. Both were bad for her, but she accepted that this was going to happen. She had had almost three weeks to come to terms with it. She had a vagina, she needed to have sex, and only Vegeta or her own Dad could help him with that. Got it. She knew that only an hour had passed on the outside. That wasn't nearly enough time for either his father or Vegeta to adjust to the fact that she was a girl let alone…

Piccolo snorted, catching her thoughts. /Worry about yourself,/ he sent. Gohan smiled.

.

He settled her onto a mattress in one of the ornate rooms of the palace, pausing to run an affectionate hand down the side of her face again. She smiled. "I still wish it was you," she said weakly.

Piccolo nodded. "I know," he said.

.

They were sparing, Piccolo could feel them long before he reached them. The fact that they were both sparring at Super Saiyan level told him that one or the other was in a bad mood. Seeing as the events of the day had unfolded like they had, it was probably both of them. He frowned to himself. They could deal with it. He had a life to save.

Sure enough they had stopped their spar as soon as they felt him approach. Piccolo came to a stop mid air several feet away, cape billowing in the wind.

Goku dropped out of Super Saiyan first. "What?" he asked, concerned. "What is it?"

"It's Gohan," Vegeta said. The smaller Saiyan powered down as well and sniffed. "You reek," he said, his eyes narrowed. In fact the Namekian smelled a lot stronger than he'd expect from just incidental contact. Huh. Was it possible the brat had been getting the Namekian to help her? The thought would have been laughable in any other situation. This time though, the situation was less humorous. Gohan trusted Piccolo and Vegeta knew she probably preferred him if given the choice. Too bad their species were completely incompatible…

Piccolo gave him a dirty look. "I've been taking care of her," he replied, and left it at that. He looked from Goku to Vegeta and back again. "I've taken her out of the Time Chamber," he added. "She has gotten worse. I need one of you to help her. Preferably immediately," he added, his agitation clear.

Vegeta and Goku exchanged looks. "You do realize the reason why we put her in there," Vegeta said, folding his arms across his chest.

The Namekian folded his arms across his chest as well. "I'm well aware," he grumped back. "But none of us might have a choice any longer. Her ki is dangerously low, and I believe she is dying." At that he could see both Saiyans turn their heads towards the look out, sensing out what Piccolo already knew. When they looked back to him Goku looked worried and Vegeta looked grim.

"This last week I could barely get her to drink anything, let alone eat," Piccolo continued. "If one of you DOESN'T do something, we might LOSE her before we get a chance to wish her back to normal, and I don't think either of you want that to happen."

There was more silence as the two Saiyans exchanged uncomfortable glances. "I think you should go Vegeta," Goku said after a moment. He grinned, though it was a bit forced, even for someone who was good at smiling at really bad times. "If someone's going to be making more Saiyans, it probably should be the Prince of all Saiyans, huh?"

"Shut UP Kakarrot," Vegeta snarled, his eyes widening. He actually turned red at that. "I don't want to fuck your son any more than you do!" he shouted. It was sort of true… it wasn't that he didn't want to fuck Gohan in her current state, he did, but he also was rather fond of the brat. There was no telling how she'd react once this was all done and she was back to being a he. Actually he knew how she'd react. The same way that she had that morning when she had stared at him with a horrified look on her face. Which, again, was why he had sent her into the Time Chamber the first place…

Piccolo didn't look like he was up for an argument. "Decide. NOW," he snapped.

Vegeta's eyes narrowed again. He didn't like being ordered about. However the Namekian's urgency, and the fact that he could barely sense Gohan, told him now was not the time to argue with him about it. And if Kakarrot wanted him to go…

Vegeta sighed. "Fine," he muttered, and floated forwards. "I'll go," Piccolo nodded, then took off towards the look out. Vegeta threw Kakarrot a glare over his shoulder.

Goku shrugged sheepishly. "Um, be careful with him… her?" he said, confusing himself again. Geez, six hours was not nearly long enough to get used to the fact that your son was a now daughter instead.

"You can do this instead if you're worried," Vegeta grouched.

Goku shook his head quickly, waving Vegeta off. "I'm sure you have it covered, Vegeta!" he exclaimed.

Vegeta gave him one last dirty look, turned and blasted off after the Namekian.

Goku's grin faded and he sighed, feeling old for one of the first times in his life. There were some things fathers really shouldn't have to do... sending former mass murderers off to have sex with their teenaged children was one of them. He had been fused with the prince once, he had seen things he had really not wanted to see when their memories meshed, scenes that to this day would occasionally wake him up with nightmares. But he had also seen the good in him, the more recent thoughts and feelings and tenderness. He knew the man cared about the children, all of them, his own two included, a lot more than he let on. He was gambling on that by sending him, hoping that Vegeta wouldn't disappoint him when faced with something primal from his past. It was still a gamble though, and a possibly cruel one to Gohan. Goku frowned, his brow furrowing. Maybe he should have gone…

He shut that thought down immediately. Right, like that would have been any better. He remembered how he acted back in the lab, how suddenly he no longer saw his own flesh and blood sitting there on the table, but rather a fascinating thing he wanted nothing more than to touch and taste and bend over the lab table and…

Goku groaned out loud, shaking his head quickly to get the images out of his mind, then began to dejectedly fly back towards Capsule Corporation. "Just be nice, Vegeta," he muttered under his breath.

.


	3. The Prince

**The Prince**

.

The smell hit him first and made his head spin. He expected it to be bad, the Namekian smelled pretty strongly after all… but he didn't expect it to be quite this overwhelming. He hastily clamped a hand over his nose as he squinted into the room.

She lay on a simple mattress on the floor, completely naked, breasts rising up and down as she slowly drew breath. Her eyes were half closed and her head turned towards the door. Vegeta could tell she could barely move by the way her hands lay at her sides, like she had just been set down. He wondered for a moment if she could even speak.

And then she did. "Vegeta," she greeted quietly.

Vegeta took a steadying breath through his mouth and hand. "Gohan," he replied. Okay, he could do this. He HAD done this before… one didn't spend years under Frieza and not learn to take… pleasure once and a while. The only difference between Gohan and the rest was he KNEW Gohan. Fuck, this should be easy. Being among humans had completely ruined him…

She must have seen his hesitation because she drew a deep breath and spoke again. "It's okay," she said.

He shook his head slightly as he reached out with his free hand to grip the doorframe beside him to prevent himself from just charging at her. "You might feel more comfortable with your Father," he said through the hand clamped over his nose. He knew he had preciously little time before he lost control of himself. He wasn't even sure if he'd be able to turn back at this point, he was already as hard as a rock and beginning to shake ever so slightly, but he felt better at least trying to give her a choice.

Gohan shook her head by rolling it slightly. "Not really," she replied. "It's weird either way," she said finally. "Probably for you too…" She managed a small smile.

Vegeta clenched his teeth, wishing with all his might that the damn brat wasn't lucid. He'd feel a lot better if she was unconscious. His grip on the doorframe caused it to crack, long line going up its entire center.

"Just… just think of something else," Vegeta growled. It was getting really hard to concentrate on anything…

Gohan nodded and looked at the door frame, then looked back at Vegeta. His eyes were glazing over, and he was literally shaking from the effort of standing still. She could see the telltale outline of his erection under his clothes. She knew that Vegeta had a strong will but this was ridiculous. And a bit nice to know he cared that much. Suddenly she was glad Vegeta had come instead of her father, she had a feeling her dad would have been all over her by now.

She drew a breath and for some reason felt calmer than she had since this entire thing had begun. "Let go of the door frame, Vegeta," she said.

"If I let go I won't be able to control myself," he rasped back at her. That confused her for a moment, particularly the desperation in his voice. And… oh, she got it. Vegeta hated to lose control of anything, didn't he, and that had a lot to do with his past. She could see from the look in his eyes that he was regressing to some point in his mind. She would have winced if she could move. She had expected this would be difficult for whichever Saiyan decided to come, but she felt a fresh wave of guilt come over her for causing Vegeta pain.

She pushed the guilt away quickly. Not her fault, and better to get this over with as quickly as possible.

"Let go, Vegeta," she said again as gently as she could.

Vegeta flinched despite himself and slowly let go. Gohan had told him to and he trusted Gohan, didn't he? The kid had saved his life after all… twice…

Gohan. He shook his head slightly, then tried to focus as his thoughts slipped away. Not… he took another step forwards. It was useless to resist no matter how much he fought it. He walked the rest of the way over to her and her eyes followed him the entire way. He managed to restrain himself just long enough to gasp out an apology before he reached for his pants and took his hand away from his nose at the same time.

Things became a blur after that. He didn't even bother taking off his pants all the way, just jerked them down to free himself. He was vaguely aware of the keening cry Gohan let out as kicked her legs apart and shoved inside of her, then knew nothing but heat and wet and how damn good she felt around him as he rammed into her again and again and again. She was enjoying it too, despite the first shout, her noises quickly turned into gasps and pants as she tried to rear up to meet him. He controlled her completely, with both hands around her slender waist to hold her in place as he rode her roughly.

Nothing, absolutely NOTHING that he had fucked to this point in his life felt as good. It was like she was made for him, and in a way she was, he had never been with a Saiyan woman before, and this half-breed was doing a fairly damn good job of being one. It was incredible. He came quicker than he even expected, crying out as he emptied himself into her.

He collapsed, breathing heavily, and only vaguely aware of the fact that she was still stiff and tense under him.

For a moment he wondered if he had hurt her… she was whimpering softly now, her eyes completely glazed over. She didn't _look_ hurt...

Oh. He got it. She hadn't come.

Lucky for her he was still hard. He'd be ready to go again in no time at all. Her whimpering was getting louder. His head was still swimming as he lifted it to look at her. "Yeah, yeah, wait a damn second," he grumbled, pressing a hand to his forehead briefly.

And then ki started to batter against his senses. He processed that… and his eyes widened.

She was… she was moving again, and she was powering up, _fast_.

A hand came up and clamped over his wrist. The grip was as hard as steel.

What?

She growled suddenly, and lunged up, flipping him over onto his back. She pinned both of his wrists down and gyrated against him, her eyes completely blank as she snarled and spat. Vegeta couldn't contain his shock. He started to struggle against her, suddenly both terrified and horribly aroused, trying to built his ki to overtake hers. For some reason it wouldn't come to him, no matter how hard he tried. He struggled to sit up, but another flare of ki knocked him back. It was suffocating now, he couldn't move, couldn't power up, why couldn't he…

His eyes widened. Was that evolutionary? What if the process of mating somehow inhibited their ability to use their ki? Perhaps to minimize the damage? Then why…

He figured it out. Gohan's human side let her access her ki in ways both he and Kakarrot couldn't… and shit. _SHIT._

There had never been a half Saiyan in heat before.

She let one wrist go briefly to reach under her, gripping his cock and positioning herself over it. Vegeta let out a howl as he slid inside of her, she was as hard inside as well as out, and there was practically no give. She rode him quickly and cruelly, letting his other wrist go to tear his top from his chest. She ran her hands up and down his torso before positioning them on his chest to steady herself as she moved up and down rapidly. Her fingers curved and dug in, creating ten sharp points of pain. He clenched his teeth as she quickened, speeding up until she finally tilted her head back and screamed. The warmth surrounding his cock magnified and pulsed. It pushed him over the edge despite himself, and he came for the second time with a small groan.

And then she crashed. That was the only word for it. Her eyes rolled up in her head and she went completely limp as she collapsed on top of him.

The ki that surrounded him and held him immobile left as fast as it had come. Vegeta scrambled out from under her, breathing heavily as he stared down at her unconscious body. It took him a couple seconds for him to realize that she might not just be unconscious. He couldn't feel her ki at all any longer.

He acted without thinking really, reaching out and grasping the sides of her face. His hand glowed and he stared at them, a bit surprised that he could access his ki NOW. He didn't feel her take any from him, at least not noticeably, but a second later her ki was back again and she opened her eyes. She blinked, looking more than a little confused as she focused on him. "V – Vegeta?" she questioned.

He let her go, giving her a wary look as he moved away from her.

She groaned and moved to push herself into a sitting position. A sudden smile lit up her face. "I can move again!" she exclaimed happily, inspecting her hands. "I… oh." She turned back to Vegeta, her smile dropping as quickly as it had come. "Vegeta, are you okay?" she asked with concern. She reached out towards him and didn't miss the small cringe. Her eyes widened. "Oh god, Vegeta, what did I do?"

"Nothing," he replied. He looked down at himself and was a bit surprised to see his pants were still intact. Huh. He pulled them up and paused as a hand touched his arm, then continued across his bicep to touch the remains of his shirt.

He looked up again. Gohan's eyes were on his chest, the worried look on her face growing. "You're bleeding," she said.

Vegeta rolled his eyes, all of his tension leaving him at that. Gohan was back to normal, and normal for her meant worrying just as much as her damn father about stupid inconsequential things. If he didn't say SOMETHING she was going to spend the next who knows however long worrying about something she had absolutely no control over and why didn't he let Kakarrot deal with this again? Did he WANT this extra responsibility?

He glared at her, and she looked up at him, large black eyes meeting his.

And then the only thing Vegeta could think of was that Gohan made a damn pretty girl.

He reached and took her chin in his hand, leaning forwards and pressing his lips to hers, intent on distracting her somewhat. It worked. She stiffened for a moment then opened her mouth with a small "ah" sound, letting him deepen the kiss. His hands slid down her shoulders, sides, and finally settled on her hips. She felt heat flush her body, not the same oppressive heat as she had felt for the last three weeks, but something closer to a nervous thrill. She gasped as he pushed her gently, then harder, causing her to fall back onto the mattress. He straddled her as he continued to kiss her, at the same time removing the gloves from his hands. She let out a needy moan as warm palms cupped her breasts, thumbs flicking over her nipples, then continued downwards, stroking her stomach. She reared up suddenly, jerking away to gasp, and looked up to find Vegeta was all out grinning down at her. She had seen those kind of grins on his face before, a lot back when she was a child actually, and it usually meant that he was about to do something really, really bad. About three weeks ago she would have shied away, but for some reason now it just made her feel hotter.

He leaned down, so his mouth was close to her ear.

"Ready for a second round?" he said.

Gohan groaned, bucking up against him. A hand had smoothed its way down to land against her sore sensitive clit. Warm fingers rubbed against it, igniting fire and slight pain from the weeks of over use. Gohan let out a short bitten off cry as another hand carried back to a breast, playing with it as well. "Oh… God," she managed to get out. Why was this so much better than when she touched herself?

"Good," Vegeta purred, there was no other word to describe it. "I can show you things the Namekian has never even dreamed of."

Gohan jerked her head to stare at Vegeta. "How do you…" at that moment two fingers plunged inside of her and crooked up, making her buck. "AH."

"I could smell you all over him," Vegeta continued, leaning down to nibble at her neck. He bit gently, making Gohan squirm. He tsked as he pulled away. "A Namekian. Imagine. Doesn't even have the equipment, but that didn't matter to you did it?"

Gohan gasped a couple more times, then stilled completely. Vegeta sensed the change in her immediately and stopped.

Shit. He had been doing so well… he sighed and removed his hand, bringing it back up to press it gently to the girl's stomach.

"Gohan," he began, sitting up to look at her. Oh fuck, and now she was crying, tears welling up in her eyes and sliding down the sides of her face. The human side coming out… or maybe it was the influx of female hormones. Either one, probably both, and there was only one way get out of this situation intact.

"I'm sorry," Vegeta apologized.

Gohan gave him a surprised look through her tears. "I – It's okay," she said, swiping at her face with the back of one of her hands. "I just… I wish I hadn't…"

Hmm… Vegeta narrowed his eyes. "Why?"

Gohan looked distraught. "Because he… he's my best friend and I…" her face crumpled.

Vegeta glowered. Now that he knew the problem… "Stop that immediately," he ordered.

Gohan looked surprised again. She struggled to sit up and finally managed it. Vegeta glared at her. "What?" she asked, a little frightened now. Vegeta looked really pissed off suddenly, and her tears were quickly forgotten in the face of the fact that she was sitting stark naked next to the volatile Saiyan.

"You're projecting," Vegeta said as he continued to glare at her.

"Huh?" Gohan replied articulately.

Vegeta frowned. The kid wasn't that dumb. "Do you REALLY think he cares? He's an _alien_. He's not human, he's not Saiyan, he's not even from this planet. Why would sex matter to him?"

"…" Gohan opened her mouth and closed it again.

Well, he had made her think at least. "Do you think sex matters to me?" Vegeta asked pointedly.

Gohan looked confused now. "I… yes? I mean, doesn't it?"

Vegeta snorted. "I wasn't raised here, brat, I couldn't care less."

Gohan looked both curious and immensely relieved at the same time. "Really?" she asked.

"Yes." He was lying, just a bit, but she didn't need to know that. It was better for her to think this was all nothing to him. And that it didn't _matter_. Because it didn't, she had about as much control over this chain of events as he did. It happened. That's it. Well, the bit there at the end he had control over… but that had been fun and she deserved to remember sex as something that wasn't awkward or forced…

As for what she had done to Piccolo it didn't matter to the green alien at all either. And THAT was something he knew for sure.

"But Piccolo…" she started and Vegeta cut her off, finding this tedious.

"I saw him _die _for you when you were a small child," he snorted. "That stupid Namek loves you, and will do anything for you, will _let_ you do anything to him, and he doesn't mind one bit. The sooner you accept that, the better off you'll both be," he couldn't believe he was giving relationship advice to someone who had just fucked him within an inch of his life, but then again, today had been anything but normal.

When Gohan still continued to look a little lost Vegeta reached out, grabbed her and flipped her on her back with her arm twisted high and hard. Gohan let out a cry of surprise more than pain, Vegeta wasn't pushing hard enough to break it. Yet. "If I broke your arm right now, who do you think will come running?" the smaller Saiyan hissed.

"… Dende?" Gohan replied, though she was smiling now.

Vegeta let her go. "Feh. You know who I meant," he said, settling back.

Gohan sat up slowly, and then wrapped her arms around her knees. She stared despondently at the wall, and Vegeta wondered what the problem was now. "What if my feelings change once this is all over and go back to being a guy?" she said quietly.

That took Vegeta a little by surprise. That meant the kid really did like the Namekian… as more than a friend, and wasn't just regretting what she had done to him. Or at least thought she liked him, the entire last couple weeks and the heat and hormones had probably changed her quite a bit. She was right; she might feel completely different once this was all over.

He sighed and rubbed a hand over his eyes. He didn't want to sit here and psychoanalyze her feelings. Honestly all he wanted to do was either fuck her again, or go home. Or just go home actually, seeing as the moment had been lost the instant she started crying. That had been his fault, admittedly, he had forgotten for a moment how old Gohan really was. She was still a child, and things like this would bother her more because it was all new to her.

He groaned mentally. Someone really needed to get the brat another woman to talk to... "Then your feelings change," he growled. "And Piccolo still won't regret it, so there's no point in you worrying about it."

When he looked at her again, Gohan had a brilliant, if teary, smile on her face. She reached over and threw her arms around him. He went to push her off, and then thought better of it. "Thanks Vegeta," she mumbled against his neck.

"You're acting like a woman," Vegeta pointed out.

"Well in case you haven't noticed…" Gohan replied dryly, pulling away again. She sat back on her heels and actually blushed, looking a bit embarrassed.

Now that was enduring.

He leaned over, taking her chin in his hand again. He paused and when she didn't pull away he proceeded to kiss her thoroughly. When he let her go again he was pleased to see Gohan was nice and flushed and he gave her a knowing look.

She blinked. "You're, uh, you're good at that," she said, clearing her throat self consciously.

"Practice," Vegeta replied. Good enough, he was confident he could now go home in peace. He got to his feet, yanked off the remaining shreds of his shirt and brushed off his pants. He leaned down and picked up his gloves one by one. Gohan watched him quietly, standing up herself as he headed for the door.

"Vegeta."

Vegeta paused and turned back slightly.

Gohan stood in the middle of the room now, toeing the floor shyly. "Thanks," she said with wide eyed sincerity. "For not making this horrible."

Vegeta gave her a smug smirk and turned, walking the rest of the way out of the room.

He allowed a small smile to play at the corner of his mouth as he walked down the hall. Success, all in all he felt he played this one quite well. She didn't hate him, he had made her feel better, and they both walked away with minimal to no injuries. And here he had thought that this would be a disaster from the start.

Piccolo was sitting cross legged meditating at the edge of the upper deck when he got there. Vegeta paused when he shot him a look.

"I suppose you heard all of that," Vegeta commented. The Namekian stood and nodded.

Vegeta eyed him. "Am I wrong?" he asked, a faint challenge to his voice.

Piccolo looked at him for a long moment, and then looked back over the side of the look out. "Gohan's very confused right now," he gave Vegeta a significant glance. "Thank you for being kind to her."

Vegeta snorted. "I'm not wrong," he said.

Piccolo shook his head, returning his gaze to off the side of the look out.

"Heh," With that Vegeta lifted off and flew away from the palace.

Piccolo watched him go before turning to return to his young charge.

.

It was getting dark by the time Vegeta approached the sprawling grounds of Capsule Corporation. He sped to a stop and dropped down onto the balcony he usually entered the house by.

Kakarrot was still inside, he could sense his ki. He sighed, knowing the other Saiyan probably wanted to be reassured that his former son was alive and well before he'd let Vegeta alone for the night. Sure enough, both he and the now youngest Son daughter sat on the couch together. Goten was playing one of his own son's many video games and Kakarrot was pretending to pay attention. Badly.

"You can relax Kakarrot, Gohan's fine," he said before the other could say anything. He intended to carry on walking through the room and order them out of his house, but paused when he saw Kakarrot was staring at him. "… what?"

"Vegeta, your chest," Kakarrot said, and then flushed bright red.

Vegeta looked down. Sure enough, ten neat little gouge marks remained where Gohan had dug her fingers into him. He had completely forgotten about those, or rather forgot that they'd be as recognizable as hand marks. He shrugged. "They'll heal," he said.

Now both of the Sons were staring at him, Goten too. "What now?" he said, beginning to get irritated.

Kakarrot shuffled a bit and looked away, but Goten's chin jutted out. "You beat up Gohan!" she exclaimed, running up to him and punching him ineffectively in the leg with her little fists.

"Yes," Vegeta replied with a smirk. He shoved her off, which caused her to fly back and land on her rear several feet away. "And she thoroughly enjoyed it."

"VeGEta," Kakarrot exclaimed, putting emphasis on the middle syllable of his name to show his horror. The larger Saiyan sobered up quickly. "Goten, go find Trunks and play with him for a bit," he said.

"But…"

"GO," Kakarrot ordered.

Vegeta was mildly impressed. He didn't know Kakarrot had it in him to order his kids around. He thought that his woman did all of that sort of thing.

Goten glowered back at her Dad for a very brief moment, then turned tail and ran from the room.

Kakarrot waited until he was out of earshot before he turned back to Vegeta, a serious look on his face now. "What happened, Vegeta?" he asked.

Vegeta stared at him. "You want me to go into every little detail?" he asked incredulously.

Kakarrot folded his arms across his chest. "I want to know what happened to him," he said. "He's my son."

"Her, she, and daughter," Vegeta corrected.

"Whatever. Vegeta…"

Vegeta gave him an irritated look and left the room, heading for one of the many bathrooms in the house. Kakarrot followed him, to his immense displeasure.

Vegeta deliberately ignored him as he set about washing off his chest. He reached into the medical cabinet for a tube of the antiseptic the woman left everywhere because at any given time she had at least two Saiyans or half Saiyans in the house. And Yamcha, where ever that bastard was currently.

"Why don't you teleport there and check on her yourself if you're so worried about her?" Vegeta grouched as he spread the stuff on the puncture marks. He really should have asked Dende to heal him before he left, he reflected.

Kakarrot shifted nervously, but didn't leave. "Vegeta…" he began again.

Vegeta's hand clenched on the tube and he finally slammed it down on the counter. "Fine," he said. He turned around and stalked towards Kakarrot, grabbing him by the shirt and yanking him down to eye level. Kakarrot's eyes widened and Vegeta smirked.

He learned up so he was nearly cheek to cheek with him. "I had fun with her, Kakarrot," he purred. "Is that what you wanted to know?" he pulled away, his eyes glittering with malice, and pressed a hand to the center of Kakarrot's chest. He ran that hand down his stomach. The flesh under his hand twitched, which told him he was having an effect on the other. Well, that and the fact that his scent spiked. "I must say it was _refreshing_ to play with one of our own kind," he paused then dragged his hand lower, wondering how far Kakarrot would really let him push this. "And she was _so_ responsive to anything I did…"

Oh there it was, the spark of anger in Kakarrot's eyes. His wrist was grabbed and wrenched up and away. They both glared at each other for a long moment, then Vegeta growled and jerked his arm, trying to free it.

Kakarrot brought his other hand up, moving to place it against Vegeta's forehead.

Vegeta twisted his head to the side before the other could touch him. "Don't you dare," he hissed. He yanked harder against the hold the other Saiyan had on his wrist, struggling now. "Let me go, NOW or I swear I'll..." Kakarrot released him suddenly and Vegeta stumbled backwards. Kakarrot cocked his head to the side, a puzzled frown on his face as he looked the fuming prince up and down.

Suddenly he smiled, warm and sunny, having decided or figured out whatever had been going through his mind. "Gohan's fine," he said decisively, sitting down on the edge of the tub.

Vegeta's jaw actually dropped open at that. "I told you that already!" he shouted at him. "Two seconds ago you wanted to know every detail!"

Kakarrot gave him a serene smile. "You weren't angry before," he said. "I can sense your thoughts and feelings a lot better when you're angry."

Vegeta's jaw snapped shut. Oh so that's what that was about. Would he never cease to… "I hate you," he muttered.

"I know," was the blithe reply.

Vegeta grit his teeth. "Next time I see Gohan I'm going to fuck her into next week," he snapped, and with that he began to bang around the cupboards looking for a towel. He was going to have a damn shower, whether the idiot was still here or not.

"Fine," was the reply, though a little less cheerful this time. "As long as she doesn't mind," he added.

Vegeta stopped cold. His rage built swiftly and without warning. "I'm not a FUCKING rapist you dumb shit," he snarled as he turned on him.

Kakarrot was solemn in the face of his fury. "I have memories," he said.

Vegeta's anger left as quickly as it came, leaving a hollow sinking feeling in its wake.

Oh.

The silence was long and uncomfortable. For a while all Vegeta could hear was the sound of his own breathing.

This was the second time today he had to relive those stupid fucking memories… he was young and it wasn't like that had been even particularly WRONG back then… he had killed millions. _Millions_ of people, and yet this…

"That FUCKING fusion," he growled under his breath. He glared at Kakarrot, teeth and fists clenched. "You know I've changed," he spoke quietly and angrily. "You KNOW it. I wouldn't BE here right now if I hadn't, I shouldn't have to reassure you of that just because something bad happened to your god damned son!" he drew in a deep breath, feeling himself actually get a bit light headed.

Kakarrot smiled at him again, and at that particular moment he wanted nothing more to smash his face in and keep hitting him until nothing remained but a bloody pulp. "I'm sorry Vegeta," the other Saiyan said sincerely. "I guess I'm being overprotective, huh?"

Vegeta drew a couple very deep breaths and slowly convinced himself to relax. Control. He needed it. Badly. "Fine," he said tonelessly. "It's fine. Yes. You are," he stared off at nothing for a second, trying to pull himself together. Fuck, this was frustrating. And he still had to have a talk with Bulma… he reached up, running his hands through his hair, clenching at it briefly before drawing them away again and glared. Kakarrot still sat there, the only other person in the universe - outside of his wife - who could drive him absolutely mad. "If I had let you go instead, you would have hurt her far worse than I did," he said in a low deliberate voice. "I saw the way you looked at her in the lab, Kakarrot."

Kakarrot stopped smiling. He fidgeted and looked away. "I don't think…"

"I did your dirty work for you so that you can continue to feel good about yourself."

"Don't say it like that," Kakarrot looked pained.

"It's true and you know it!" Vegeta snapped. "So don't give me any more of your bullshit, it's tiring," he turned away and found a towel at last, picking it up and heading over to the shower.

He didn't quite make it. A warm pair of arms wrapped around him from behind, holding him gently in place.

He stiffed. "Let me go."

"In a second," was the muffled reply against his hair.

"NOW, Kakarrot," he hissed. He brought his elbow back and slammed it into the other Saiyan, which had absolutely not effect whatsoever. He had braced for it, obviously.

Kakarrot drew in a deep breath. "Thank you, Vegeta," he said. He lingered for a moment longer before letting go. A second later he had winked out of existence and Vegeta found himself alone in the bathroom.

Stupid _fucking _bastard… Vegeta let out a long low sigh of relief, then shrugged and shook it off. Whatever, he was gone now, and with any luck he wouldn't see him again for a very long time.

It took him until half way through his shower to realize he had gotten thanks from Gohan, Kakarrot and Piccolo that day. He let out a groan and thumped his forehead against the wall lightly.

Well, at least he had gotten laid, for what that was worth.

.


	4. Aftermath

**Aftermath**

.

As soon as Vegeta left the room it was like all her strength escaped her. Gohan sat down heavily, on the floor beside the mattress, and just stared at the doorway. She then realized she could see the crack in the doorframe where Vegeta had gripped it as well as four indentations where his fingers had been and looked away, feeling her breath catch in her throat and her cheeks burn.

Her mind whirled, thinking of everything and nothing at the same time. It was like she couldn't think… with every sentence her mind cut her off and thought of something new, only to be interrupted again before she could finish that line of thought. Around it went in endless circles. It took her a while to realize what was happening to her.

She was in shock. It wasn't as bad as it could be, she had been in worse shock as a child, but she needed to deal with it. The only way to fix it was to cut everything down to the present. What did she absolutely need right then to survive? She forced herself to make a mental checklist. Bath. Clothes. Food. Sleep.

In that order?

Yes, probably. She got to her feet shakily, only to find that someone was standing there, a few feet away.

"Piccolo," she exclaimed. He had come into the room without her noticing, and was now staring at her with an expression of grave concern on his face. She had to have been really out of it to not even notice him approach.

He was also carrying a pile of multicolored fabric in his arms. Clothes probably, she thought vaguely, and she watched as he walked over and placed them at the end of the mattress. He stood again, sniffed the air, and reached out, incinerating the remaining scraps of Vegeta's clothes with a small burst of energy before turning back to her. She stood still as he stepped up to her and placed a hand against her forehead. "Are you all right?" he asked, his voice a low rumble.

Gohan stared at him. She opened her mouth to reply, but nothing came out.

Piccolo nodded once to himself. "No," he answered his own question. "You're not."

She managed a reply to that. "I will be," she said honestly, trying to give him a smile and failing.

Piccolo merely gave her an assessing look and went back to the bed. He picked up something from the pile of fabric and she could see as he unfolded it that it was a sheet. He walked back up to her and draped over her shoulders and wrapped around her front.

She lifted a hand and clasped the sheet closed. "Thanks," she said quietly.

He nodded. He gave her another assessing look and finally he leaned down. One hand fell behind her knees, another her back. Gohan found herself airborne, picked up and held in Piccolo's arms. The Namekian started for the door.

"I can move on my own now," Gohan said, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"I know," Piccolo replied, but he didn't stop and didn't put her down. Gohan mentally shrugged and relaxed, placing her head against Piccolo's chest. It was nice to be carried like this.

He carried her all the way across the palace to the other side where the bathing room was. The tub in here was the size of a small pool and he put her down in the shallow end of it. He removed the sheet with an apologetic tug. She didn't mind. She watched tiredly as he went over and turned on both the facets, holding his hand under them to ensure that the temperature wasn't too hot or too cold.

"You know you don't have to take care of…"

He shot her a look and she shut up.

Piccolo finished drawing the bath. She continued to watch him as he walked to the corner of the room and picked up a cloth, bringing it back over to her. He crouched down and handed it to her.

"Thanks," she said again. She took it and began to bathe herself. Within a couple strokes she noticed her hands were shaking. She clenched her jaw and tightened her grip. The shaking stopped. She reached to the side, gathering up the soap and lathering it onto the cloth, then brought it back and went back to work.

She didn't realize she had been scrubbing the same area of her arm over and over again until a hand took her wrist and held it still.

Gohan jumped, just a bit, and stared.

Piccolo returned her gaze calmly. "Let go," he commanded.

Gohan let go of the cloth and blinked down at her arm. It was red from being washed over and over again. She wondered how long she had been scrubbing at it.

/Long enough,/ was the reply in her head.

She jumped both mentally and physically at that and she felt regret quickly flash through the mind link. "Sorry," he said out loud. He let go of her wrist and pulled away.

Gohan's eyes widened. She felt him retreat from her mind at the same time as he stood. She was suddenly, irrationally afraid that he would leave her. "It's okay, it's okay!" she said, splashing in the water as she sat upright. She tried to scramble to her feet. "Don't…!"

He turned back quickly.

"Calm DOWN," he ordered, really ordered this time, his tone of voice like he used to use when he trained her.

She froze. She was broken, she knew she was then, still in shock. Amazingly, or maybe not very, her mind latched onto Piccolo's voice like it was a lifeline.

"Breathe," he said. "_Slowly_," he added, glowering at her until she did so. "Yes… there, like that." She could feel herself relaxing despite herself, conditioning that he molded into her as a child taking effect. She could do THIS, this was easy. It was like fighting; everything focused into one single instant, one single thought, breath, every sense tuned into only what was about to happen next and nothing else. She watched, without thinking of anything as he removed his turban, shoulder pads, and cape, carefully setting them down instead of tossing them aside like he usually did, then reaching down and removing his shoes one by one. He stood again, still clothed in his simple purple gi. He walked over to the bath and climbed in next to her.

"Relax," he said, and she hadn't realized she had tensed up until he spoke. The moment he said it she did so, again without much thought. Her mind faded to blankness as he gathered her up and pushed her firmly back into the water. He supported her head on one of his knees just high enough up so that most of her head remained above the water, then reached for the soap. She closed her eyes as he ran soap covered clawed fingers through her hair, washing it. When her hair was done he continued down the rest of her body with the cloth, never spending more or less time anywhere, merely washing her while her mind drifted.

After some time had past she turned her head and looked up, watching him silently, taking in the pensive look on his face as he concentrated. His eyes met hers briefly, very briefly, and he looked away again. His hand never faltered but she saw his brow furrow, just a bit. A thinking frown. He was always thinking.

She smiled and reached up. She ghosted her hand along his jaw to his mouth… he let her without tensing, pulling away, or stopping what he was doing. He completely ignored her as she pressed her index finger inside of his mouth, just a bit, touching a pointed canine. She wondered why Namekians even had canines if they lived only on water. But then, they looked human enough, perhaps the loss of the ability to eat meat was only a recent development in their evolutionary history. She continued up, to the pointed ear and then she couldn't reach any further. He seemed to understand and brought his head down a bit, letting her hand continue up to the antennae. Those twitched but didn't do anything else as she drew her fingers along them. So odd, those… like a giant reminder that he wasn't human at all, even moreso than the teeth and the ears…

Guilt bit at her and she removed her hand, letting it fall back into the water. "Piccolo," she said. She cleared her throat. "I'm sorry that I…"

"Stop," he said.

"But I…"

"Don't," he looked up at her, narrowed eyes meeting her own. The expression on his face was severe.

She stared at him mutely and the look gentled. He sighed and dropped the cloth in the water, evidently done with it, and brought his hand up to press it to side, then continued up to her face, cupping her cheek. "I'm not sorry," he said. He looked away now, almost a bit bashful for a second until turning to look at her again, a very serious expression on his face. "I never will be sorry when it comes to you."

She smiled at that, genuinely touched. She brought her hand out of the water, pressing it to the one he held against the side of her face. "I'm not sure what I did to deserve that, but… thanks."

His eyes changed, deep concern developing in them. He drew a deep breath. Suddenly he moved his hand down to grab her by the back of her neck, lifting her up and out of the water completely as he pressed his forehead to hers. /You mean _everything_ to me,/ and the intense honesty behind his mind voice took her breath away. She gasped as everything he had been thinking for the last couple weeks flooded through her. Anxiety, concern, and finally fear… terrible biting fear that he'd lose her. Not one bit of regret was anywhere. The closest was faint exasperation at the fact that she was so concerned about it at all.

Vegeta was right, she realized dully. It really didn't matter. That thought was gloriously freeing.

He kissed her suddenly, really actually kissed her, pressing his mouth to her own. It was clumsy but heartfelt and she didn't even hesitate as she kissed him back with a ferocity that surprised even her. She clung to him, desire thrummed through her… she wanted him, but it was more than that, so much more and she pulled him closer, arching against him. Strong arms hoisted her up, twisting about so that she sat in the water straddling him. She whimpered and pushed closer to him, her hands everywhere... the stupid cloth was in the way, she needed to touch skin…

No, she needed more than that. She wanted nothing more than to merge with the person below her, to melt into them, to remain with them, be one together, and she moaned at the intensity of the urge, it was overwhelming, so much it took her breath away. She needed to be with this person FOREVER, this human that looked nothing like himself and the thought of being separate from them caused devastating pain and sadness… so thick he felt it would tear him in two…

She wrenched away from the kiss quickly, leaning back so that she could see him. "Oh my God, Piccolo," she muttered. She stared down at him with dawning realization. "That's you."

He looked shocked then, panting himself, and now she could see… no she could FEEL his panicked alarm. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-" he said quickly, his eyes briefly going wild. And then he closed off, his face going blank, and as fast as they came the feelings, the overwhelming desire, everything… went away. Completely.

The disconnect hit her like a cold shock to her system. It was actually physically painful. She let out a strangled groan and fell back into the water. His eyes widened again and he was up instantly, grabbing her, picking her up and out of the water. He put her down again onto the tiled floor. "Gohan," he said urgently, gripping her shoulders as he peered down at her. Her heart was pounding, so fast she felt it take her breath away and she coughed. A sweat broke out over her body and she jerked her head to the side, teeth clenched.

"Turn it back on," she gasped. "TURN IT BACK ON," she demanded. She reached up and grabbed his shirt, twisting it in her hand, yanking him down towards her. He stared at her. "_PLEASE_," she added, feeling more desperate now than she had been the last few weeks.

He blinked. Then he brought a hand up to press it to her forehead, his eyes falling closed.

The mental link opened up again. It was not as heavy or as intense as it had been before, the emotions and feelings were duller, more… distant. He was controlling it now she realized. It didn't matter to her at all, all that mattered was it was back. Tears of relief welled up in her eyes. /Thank you,/ she thought at him, relaxing, her head falling back against the tile floor.

When he opened his eyes again they looked troubled. Deep concern for her filtered down through the link. "I'm sorry," he said, regret tingeing his voice. "I've hurt you," and she could hear the anguish in his words.

"You did no such thing," she reprimanded, wanting nothing more but to sooth his pain away, silly and unfounded as it was. "How long have you felt that way?" Even as she asked she knew the answer. A long time. A VERY long time, all the way back to when he first abducted her when she was four, and she had unintentionally filled the aching void of loneliness in his life.

She hadn't even realized. She knew he cared about her of course, and she knew they shared a not often used telepathic connection, she just didn't know their link ran _that_ deep. This warmth… it was incredible. It occupied all of her senses and soothed her mind… she felt fulfilled, loved… protected. She pushed up suddenly, wrapping her arms around his neck, burying her face into his shoulder.

"Thank you," she said happily.

He hesitated only for a second before he hugged her back, dropping his head to rest it on her shoulder as well, his hand coming up to thread into her hair.

.

Vegeta had nearly fallen asleep when he heard and felt her approach. His back was to the door and he opened his eyes, though he didn't say anything or move. She opened the door with a quiet click and walked into the room. There was some light rustling, and then she padded across the floor and climbed into the bed.

He allowed himself a small smile as she leaned up and over and kissed him on the cheek. "Bulma," he greeted.

She went back to her side of the bed, but not before rubbing his upper arm a couple times in a comforting gesture with a well manicured hand. He listened to her settle in, and then there was silence.

He rolled over onto his back. "Well?" he said. "Aren't you going to ask?"

"What, ask if you got laid?" she replied, turning to look at him with a twinkle in her eye. "Son already told me."

He gave her a quick glance then huffed in annoyance. Of course he did.

She reached out, playing a hand across his chest, pausing to sit up a bit to look at the wounds. They were already starting to heal over, accelerated by his rapid Saiyan healing. She lay back down again, and then snuggled into his arm.

"How did she take it?" she asked.

Vegeta was quiet for a moment. "It – she was okay. She took it better than I expected," he replied. "Though she did have a couple weeks to adjust to the idea," he added dryly.

Bulma nodded. There was silence for a few more moments. "And how was the sex?" Bulma asked coyly.

He gave her a quick surprised glance to see that she was smiling at him, her eyes glittering with mischief. He shoved her away gently. "You're just as bad as Kakarrot," he grumbled.

"Goku wanted to know the details too?" Bulma exclaimed. "Good for you Son! I didn't know you had it in you!" She giggled and Vegeta cast his eyes at the ceiling.

"So?" Bulma asked again once she got her giggles under control.

Vegeta shot her a nasty look. "It was fine." When she made a hand motion to elaborate he made a face at her. "The first part wasn't as..." he made a hand motion to his own chest. "After that she was… responsive. A bit shy. I didn't hurt her if that's what you're worried about."

She smiled. "I know," she replied, and she meant it. Son Goku might have been worried about that but she wasn't. Sharing a bed with the Saiyan prince for several years let her know just what her husband was capable of – and he was capable of a great deal - but that was one thing she knew he wouldn't do if he could at all prevent it. He was neurotic about never losing control of himself, no matter how angry he got at her. And she was an expert at getting him worked up, just like Goku was, thought she did it deliberately. In fact, if Goku knew how similarly Vegeta reacted to being nettled, he might have found himself a bit disturbed. The difference between her and Goku, however, was that Goku could take a kick in the face at full power, she couldn't. It was because of that that she fully expected Goku to accidentally find himself in bed with Vegeta at some point during his life, and the thought made her snicker. It wouldn't be for a while, she knew, her husband was an expert at denial.

Bulma smirked to herself as she watched him study the ceiling, appearing to be lost in thought himself. He was probably thinking about the day and what he had done to Gohan and that made her smile fade away into something more enduring. She knew it had to have been difficult on him, and she had seen how hard he had fought to prevent this from happening in the first place. But she had also known that afternoon, after seeing Gohan's rapidly deteriorating state, that there was nothing she could do to stop this. Vegeta had been the best choice out of the two, and she would have suggested it anyway if the two Saiyans hadn't thought of the Time Chamber idea. Anything to keep Son away from his own child.

She also knew Vegeta probably enjoyed it, even if it bothered him. That she expected. She also expected that there were going to be repeat performances, Gohan was still female, and now was going to be pregnant with his child. There was one way to find out… she reached out and played a hand along the arm that had just pushed her away a moment ago. She looked up at him from under lowered lashes. "Would you do it again?" she asked in a low seductive voice.

He gave her a very suspicious look now and moved his arm away from her this time instead of shoving her. "If I answer that truthfully will I still have a place to live?" he returned.

She smirked. The answer was yes. That didn't particularly disturb her either, and she wondered at that. If it had been a human woman she would have felt differently, she was sure.

She sat up back against the headboard and gave her husband a wounded look. "Of course you will Vegeta," she said, like he had just asked the dumbest question in the world.

He folded his arms across his chest. He wasn't convinced. Of course he wasn't.

She sighed and ran a hand through her short hair. "I feel bad for Gohan," she said seriously. "She didn't want any of this to happen to her in the first place. And now she's going to be pregnant with your child, which means both of you will have to work together to figure out what to do. I really don't mind sharing you in the meantime, Vegeta, I'd be sharing you anyway," she added. She paused. "The only thing I'd be upset about would be if…"

Oh here it was, the catch. He smirked, thinking he had caught her.

She didn't give him the pleasure. "If you ran off with her somewhere and left me behind," Bulma said, pouting briefly, playfully. She gave her husband a suspicious look and poked him in the arm. "You're not going to go back into space and try to reestablish the great Saiyan Empire are you?"

Vegeta gave her a half disgusted and half amused look. No, he wasn't going anywhere. "No." he replied. "And even if I wanted to, which I don't," he added for emphasis, his space faring days had been over for years, "She wouldn't do it. She's in love with someone else."

Bulma was puzzled for a moment, and then nodded as she remembered that Gohan had been dating. "Ah, that Satan girl."

Vegeta smirked and shook his head. "No, not her," he paused significantly and drew it out before continuing. "The Namek."

Well, that one took Bulma by surprise. "W –what? In love with… with _Piccolo_? When did THAT happen?"

Vegeta shrugged. "Sometime after we left him in a Time Chamber with a sex starved Saiyan. Maybe before. Those two have always been close."

"Oi." Bulma pressed a hand to her forehead and slumped back down so that she was lying on the pillows. "Does Goku know?"

Vegeta snorted and shrugged again, lying back on the bed as well. "He'll find out eventually."

She chuckled at that. "I'd like to see Goku's face when he finds out," she said. Visions of Goku struggling to give the glowering Namekian his blessings floated through her head. Oh, that would be a priceless day.

Vegeta grunted in reply. Secretly he couldn't agree with her more. His life might have just gotten more complicated, but at least it parts of it had the potential to be amusing. And Bulma had practically given him a free pass with no strings attached to play with Gohan, if the girl would let him. He doubted that it would happen, but it was good to know that his wife was okay with it if the opportunity presented itself. Yes, the day could have definitely gone much, much worse...

And then Bulma started to giggle. When he turned to look at her questioningly she peered up at him with eyes dancing with delight. "Oh my God, Vegeta you're going to be a FATHER again. This is so exciting! Aren't you _excited_?"

He stared at her. Then his brow twitched. Her laughter grew as he turned over deliberately so that his back was to her. He grit his teeth when the noise didn't abate any. "Shut UP woman and go to _sleep_," he growled irritably.

She quieted by degrees and when she finally got control of herself she sighed contently and cuddled up against his back. "I'm excited," she mumbled happily.

He cast his eyes upwards and didn't reply.

.


	5. Merge

Merge

.

Her emotions crashed like swelling waves in his mind, every thought and feeling as sharp as if it were his own. She was more than content and happy, she was ecstatic, she loved him, everything was right, and good and amazing. She stroked his neck and shoulder idly, her eyes closed and a smile on her face.

Piccolo drew a deep breath. The emotions were slightly unfamiliar to him and that was how he knew they weren't his completely own. He felt, of course, deeply about some matters, but not with the same sharp intensity as she did. He expected that had something to do with the difference between their species… or maybe it was just him.

What he didn't understand was what, exactly, had he _done. _All he had wanted to do was reassure her. Her mind had been absolute chaos, and he had wanted to sooth it, make her feel better…

He had ended up doing the exact opposite of what he wanted to do without even meaning to. He had flooded her mind with his own, giving her thoughts, memories, and feelings… when he realized what was going on, he had shut down the link, only to discover he couldn't do that without causing her a lot of pain.

That meant that their once voluntary link had just become quite… involuntary.

Shit.

"Gohan," he muttered against her hair. He combed his fingers through her hair then tilted her head back so that she would look at him.

The content happiness faded slightly as she saw the look on his face and caught what he was feeling. /What is it? Why are you upset?/ And then when she sensed the problem without him having to say anything she continued. / It's okay, I don't mind./

Damn it. Of _course_ she'd be perfectly fine with this.

"Shh," she said, and a calming feeling came over him. This warmth, these feelings weren't his, but hers, and they were mixing and combining with his own. It felt a bit like how he had felt when he had fused with…

Oh.

His eyes widened. It made sense then, what had happened, and also why he didn't understand it. Gohan was a human, there was no way for them to ever fuse like he had with Kami and Nail. Wanting to fuse with someone and being able to were two totally different things. "Gohan, I think…" he began. /I think I tried to fuse with you,/ he thought at her.

She considered that for a moment. Then he got the equivalent of a mental shrug from her. "But you didn't, so…"

/Can't you feel how strong our link is?/ he continued, agitated. His grip tightened on her slightly. /And the damage might be permanent…/

She shifted in his arms. "I don't feel damaged," she said.

"Gohan…" he started, and now irritation had begun to creep into his voice.

She sighed, and pulled away so that she could look at him. Now he felt concern and a bit of warm fondness at his paranoia. "I'm not hurt," she pointed out.

/I can't shut down the link without causing you pain,/ he thought at her.

The expression on her face grew solemn. "Do you want to?" she asked, and there was something there… an uncertainty, a fragileness… insecurity welled up from her. It took him a moment to figure out that it was a fear of rejection.

"No, of course not," he replied quickly, but he was lying in part. If he was to be permanently attached to her, it would be difficult to keep his thoughts to himself. Being able to think for himself was very important to him, especially since from birth he had someone else's drives and ambitions given to him. Not to mention the two extra sets of thoughts and memories he had acquired since then…

Understanding dawned on her face. "Privacy," she said out loud, sounding a bit sheepish. He felt her chagrin that she hadn't realized that before. "You don't want me in your head permanently all the time," she nodded and gave him a little smile. "I understand."

He was silent for a moment. "Can you block it on your end?" he asked.

She inspected him for a long moment, searching his face, then she sighed and nodded. "I'll try," she said. He felt her concentrate and the link wavered, just a bit as she tried to mentally force it closed. He could feel her mentally retreat, the feelings growing weak and distant and then she let out a small sharp cry. She stiffened in his arms briefly, before letting her breath out with a woosh and slumping forwards. The link flared and went back to being strong and steady again.

"I can't do it," she admitted. He could feel it had hurt her to even try.

He may have set Vegeta on her, but he had a sinking suspicion he had caused more damage to her than Vegeta had by far. He winced. "I'm sorry, I never intended to…"

She cut him off. "I know, It's okay," she said. She paused, her brow knit as she thought. "Try to block it on your side again," she said.

/Are you sure?/ he thought back at her. He didn't want to cause her pain again. She nodded and steeled herself.

This was a bad idea. He hesitated. When she mentally nudged him he sighed and shut down the link again. Just like the first time she seized up, stiffening in his arms. She amazingly stayed still for a good ten seconds, then twenty, her breathing speeding up, teeth clenched. She didn't say anything as the seconds ticked away, just sat there with her eyes squeezed shut and her brow furrowed. When she started to shake he removed the block voluntarily, unwilling to cause her pain any longer, greatly distressed that he had.

She relaxed, breathing heavily, then reacted quickly to his anguish, wrapping her arms around him. With the reopened link the warmth was back, the love and concern. "Don't," she said against his chest. "Shh, don't, it's okay," she continued.

He wasn't sure if he deserved her care and concern, after what he had done to her…

"Which you didn't do on purpose," she grumbled affectionately at him. /We'll figure something out,/ she continued. /Maybe it just takes practice,/ she added hopefully.

He didn't share her optimism and thought as much.

She groaned. "And I thought I worried a lot," she said ruefully. She reached up, running her hand down the side of his face before leaning up and kissing him on the cheek. "Thank you," she said with a smile. She didn't elaborate on that as she pushed away from him and climbed to her feet. She stood steady for a moment, then drew a deep breath, before turning her head to look back down at him. "Do you guys have anything to eat around here?" she asked, and her smile turned into an all out grin.

.

She ate heartily, which was a great relief, no matter how disgusting it was to watch her eat the massive quantities of food that Saiyans managed to pack away. Apparently the heat had completely broken with Vegeta's visit, and for that he was glad. The fact that she was pregnant or soon would be was an issue, but that didn't contain the same urgency as knowing she might die if she didn't receive help on an immediate basis.

She had been tired after that, nearly unable to stand. He had guided her back to the room, laid her down on the bed and let her tug him in after her. She had been asleep within seconds. He remained, watching over her silently for nearly an hour, before carefully extracting himself from her and getting to his feet.

He stepped out into the quiet darkness of night, barely glancing at the vibrant stars up above before making his way to the front of the palace. It didn't take him long to find him, he knew the palace like the back of his own hand, and Dende was predictable.

Sure enough the young God was sitting at the window seat by the front entrance, a faraway look in his eyes as he gazed out over the grounds. He frowned a bit as he took in the smaller Namekian. He knew that troubled look, and it was one of the aspects of his former job he, or rather Kami, didn't miss. The constant strain of watching his subjects, seeing the cruelty humans could so easily inflicted on each other…

Dende sensed his presence and looked up, worried look fading into a kindly smile. "Is Gohan alright now?" he asked.

Piccolo shook his head. "I- I'm not sure," he said, and paused. The link had been reduced to a constant but level hum in the back of his head as she slept. It was a relief to escape her mind, no matter what he felt about her, but its continued presence even while she was unconscious told him he was correct as to the intensity of the bond. "I've done something and I don't know if I can fix it," he admitted.

"What is it?" Dende asked, and the worried look returned. He got to his feet.

Piccolo sighed. "I think my mind tried to _fuse _with Gohan's," he said with a grumble. "What we share is now no longer our normal link. I feel everything she feels and I see most of the things she thinks. I can block my side of it a little bit, but when I tried to shut down the entire thing it caused her a great deal of pain."

There was silence as Dende processed that. "... Ah," he said finally. "How did it happen?" he asked.

"I was trying to reassure her," Piccolo replied, and understanding flooded Dende's face. It was accompanied quickly by sympathy. "I'm not sure what happened after that."

Dende looked pensive for a moment. "Saiyans possess latent telepathy, so I can see how it might happen if your minds were both connected," he said finally. "Perhaps it will fade on its own?"

Piccolo shook his head. The link wasn't going anywhere. "Can you do anything to help?" he asked.

Dende gave him a small frown but nodded. "Lean down," he said.

Piccolo did so, allowing the small God to place a hand against his forehead. He grit his teeth briefly, not enjoying the thought of having Dende in his head, but at least he didn't have to worry about any ill effects from another Namekian. Dende's hand glowed for a moment and he felt him shift about in his mind and forced back the feelings of discomfort. After a moment Dende pulled away and looked up at him with slightly widened eyes.

"That doesn't look good," Piccolo remarked.

"There is a great deal of overlap between you both," Dende said finally. "I don't think I can sever the connection," he added. His solemn look faded into a small smile. "I knew you cared for Gohan," he began gently. "But I didn't realize you felt that deeply..."

"Save it," Piccolo growled.

Dende took that in stride, but the knowing look he leveled at Piccolo said a lot.

"I know, I get it," he grumbled. The larger Namekian shifted uncomfortably, looking away and glowering off into the distance for a bit. He then looked back at Dende. "You can't help me," he said. It was more of a statement than a question.

Dende shook his head slowly. "I can feel that you're already controlling your side of the connection quite well on your own," he said, considering. "Perhaps we can work on shielding it further without severing it. I can help you with that if you'd like. If you can block it more than you are currently… it might not be as overwhelming," he offered.

"I would like that," Piccolo replied. He folded his legs and sat on the ground cross-legged. He understood the unspoken elaboration of what Dende had said. A shield wouldn't stop him from being able to feel her. Granted, he was used to reading Gohan, just from the fluctuations in her ki, and he could sense her distress in other situations. And of course they could both speak to each other mentally. But vague sensing and the occasional conversation was not the same as this… this overlapping of everything he considered to be him… this was different. Uncomfortably so.

He had a feeling he was in for a very long eight months, if not longer. He grit his teeth. The sooner he learnt how to block this the better off they'd both be.

.

She was dreaming, the flashes of images coming as if from an old film or memories from a very long time ago. She was standing in the air as a city exploded behind her, thousands dying and she laughed while it burned. The scene changed and suddenly she was plunging her hand through a soldier's chest, blood and gore slicking her arm as she withdrew it. Another scene change and she saw a slightly older version of Goten, a determined look on his face, his tail (tail?) waving behind him as he glared at her. She held Tien's head in her overly large hand as she hurled rocks at the boy, breaking his bones…

The scene changed again and she could see a teenaged version of her dad before her. He was writhing in agony as she drove a knee into the bleeding hole in his chest. She got off of him, then attacked again, breaking his legs as he screamed in pain. He still wouldn't die and she felt panic rise within her. She didn't want to die, and if she didn't kill him, he would kill her. And suddenly she was lying, crushed and unable to move, pain radiating from every part of her body. Then her dad was smiling at her as he pushed a senzu bean past her lips.

She wanted to sit up and hug him, but instead she reacted with shock and fear, leaping back from him, utterly confused as to why she was still alive. Her dad's friends were all staring at her and they hated her, were frightened of her… knew she was a monster.

_Why _had he spared her?

She woke up by degrees, the dream fading even as her mind pieced together what she had seen. It wasn't a dream, she realized, but memories, and they had come from the person who sat next to her on the bed. She smiled and snuggled closer to him without even opening her eyes. "When did you blow up a city?" she mumbled.

She felt his shock and embarrassment. He narrowed the link quickly and some sort of mental shield slammed up so hard she winced, all his thoughts and feelings fading into background noise.

"Hey," she protested. She rolled over onto her back and focused up at him. He was giving her an extremely wary look, his arms folded across his chest. He looked like he had just been meditating. She frowned at him, hurt that he had shut her out, then remembered the privacy thing from the day before. "Sorry," she said out loud, a bit ashamed.

The expression on his face softened by degrees and he unfolded his arms. At the same time she felt him relax the mental block. /It's… fine. How did you see that?/ he thought at her.

/Dreams,/ she replied. She leaned up, moved over and settled her head against his thigh. She thought about the dream, inadvertently showing him all that she had seen. She felt him wince mentally when she replayed the part where he tortured her father. The mental shield threatened to come back up again, but this time because he was ashamed.

She rolled her head so she could see him again. "It's fine, you don't have to shut me out," she said gently. "I know what you did to my dad," she had been told about the tournament battle with Piccolo when she had been a small child, before he had abducted her.

He looked surprised which turned into shock and a bit of disbelief that she wasn't upset. That was more amusing than anything. "It's my_ dad_," she pointed out. "I saw Vegeta break every bone in his body, remember?"

He didn't remember, because he had been dead at the time. She told him without words, a memory coming to mind of her dad being crushed in the hands of a gigantic ape, screaming as his ribs cracked one by one.

It was a particularly brutal memory, and he thought as much. "Glad to know Vegeta and I have something in common," he commented wryly, speaking out loud for the first time since she had awoke. His cynical expression fell into a more sober one and she caught a glimpse of what he was thinking about. The tournament again. More specifically the fact that her father had let him go.

It was something that troubled him.

"Why does it bother you?" she asked.

He looked surprised for a second then replied. "Your father was an idiot," he said a bit grumpily, folding his arms across his chest again and glowering at the far wall. "Our match had nothing to do with the tournament. I could have easily killed every one of his friends with a single blast. I _would _have if it wasn't for Tien's quick thinking. The risks of letting me go were steep."

She studied him. He had that look on his face again, the one he got when he was angry or upset about something. He definitely _felt_ upset. She sat up again, stretching briefly and scratching her head with a yawn. "But it worked out in the end, didn't it?" she replied earnestly. "For you and Vegeta," she added.

"Letting Vegeta go was even more foolish than I," Piccolo replied and he was very serious now. She saw his memories of the volatile Saiyan on Namek… how Piccolo knew that Vegeta could and planned to turn on them without a second thought. How if the fight with Frieza had gone any differently, or if Vegeta had gotten his wish for immortality, he expected that they all would have been killed in short order. "That was a terrible gamble, and your father knew it."

She frowned, distressed. It was… odd to see the events of Namek from another's perspective. Even back then she felt Vegeta had been different even if he didn't act like it… and even if he himself didn't know it yet. But maybe she had been the only one to see that he had the potential to be good back then, or maybe she only saw Vegeta in a different light because she had been a child.

Piccolo looked at her suddenly, and the expression on his face changed again to a gentler one. He reached out to her, grasping her shoulder. /I know you like to think of the best of people, and I know Vegeta is different than the way he was before,/ he thought at her.

It was an offered truce, a chance to drop the subject. She smiled and accepted, moving towards him, curling up against his side.

She was thinking now, her mind playing over the events of the day before, how Vegeta had acted. He might have been selfish and self-serving once but he had treated her with kindness the day before… he hadn't needed to do that. And then her mind went to the part where he had kissed her, how it made her breathless, how an odd thrill went through her…

Piccolo shifted suddenly, and cleared his throat. Belatedly she remembered he could "see" her thoughts.

"Oh, sorry," she said, turning her head to look up at him. She flushed at the uncomfortable look on his face. "I forgot," she said with utter embarrassment. She pushed off of him and sat back against the wall, biting her lip as she looked away. "I'm sure you don't want to think about Vegeta kissing anyone," she said finally.

"It's not at the top of my list of things to think about, no," he replied. He gave her a reproachful glare and she laughed at the look on his face. When she stopped and looked at him again she found that he was studying her now, intently, his expression unreadable.

"What is it?" she asked.

He frowned, just a bit. Suddenly he shifted so that he was closer, and reached out towards her. He traced the side of her face with a clawed finger. "I don't want…" he paused. "I don't want you to stop thinking about things because you're afraid I'll see it," he said quietly. "That includes Vegeta, or anything else," he paused before continuing. "_Promise _me that you won't let this change you." There was a hint of desperation in his voice that she very rarely heard from him.

Her brow knit briefly. "I… okay," she replied. When he looked skeptical she continued. "I promise." His eyes searched her face, then he seemed to decide with a small nod.

He went to pull away from her again she made a small noise of protest.

He paused. The look on his face became more curious than anything as he studied her. At the same time her mind had returned to that kiss, and a faint flush rose to her cheeks. She couldn't seem to push the image out of her head and now she was now hyper aware of how close he was to her, how close his mouth was to hers…

And then understanding flooded his features. He got it.

He seemed to consider for a moment, then reached behind her head, hand combing through her hair briefly before tugging her forwards. Her breath caught and she went without any resistance. He paused when his face was inches from her own, contemplated her for a moment more, giving her the chance to break away if she wanted to…

When she didn't he closed the gap, pressing his lips to hers, very gently, almost cautiously.

She groaned and kissed him back, hard, hands grasping his shoulders and pulling him towards her. He opened his mouth to hers, letting her take control for a while. He surprised her when he reared up suddenly, arm snaking around her waist as he held her in place, kissing her back with skill that he hadn't had before. She wondered vaguely if he had learned how to do this from her memories, and then decided she didn't care, it felt too good and she made a sharp needy sound in the back of her throat, her hands fisting in his shirt…

And then her dad decided to wink into existence behind her.

They both froze. Piccolo actually physically recoiled from her, dropping her abruptly, and at the same time she turned about. "Dad!" she gasped.

Goku stood halfway across the room from them, his fingers still pressed to his forehead from teleporting. He looked like he had been about to greet them but he stopped. A look of complete and utter confusion developed on his face.

"It's not what you think!" Gohan blurted out, and the instant she said it she felt it was a stupid thing to say. It was exactly what he might or did think it was and by calling attention to it just made it worse.

Goku blinked at her. For once her dad actually looked speechless.

/Gohan,/ Piccolo spoke in her head sharply. He was agitated, she realized, and that agitation wasn't aimed at her. His eyes narrowed as he got to his feet. He pulled her up with him, and drew her behind himself. "Goku,'' he greeted, his calm voice a contrast to the swirling thoughts Gohan could feel from him. Those thoughts ranged from why was he here, what did he want, to would he still want Gohan, and would he have to defend her, at least give her time to get away if she wanted… he was prepared for the worst, slipping into a defensive stance. There was nothing in his head that was concerned with the fact that her dad had just "walked" in on them _kissing_ …

/That's not important right now,/ Piccolo thought at her irritably, picking up on her thoughts. Gohan looked at him. She could feel the wary tension pouring off of him in waves and as she watched a clawed hand tightened into a fist.

"Hey, wait," Gohan began, her embarrassment forgotten as she looked between her dad and Piccolo with wide eyes. /You're not going to fight are you?/

Piccolo didn't reply, though she knew the answer through their connection. He would if he had to… she shot a desperate look at her dad.

Goku caught the look and reacted for the first time since arriving. He relaxed visibly, then smiled and laughed, scratching the back of his head as he did so. "Sorry!" he said cheerfully. "I didn't mean to interrupt," he waved his hands about then gave them both a warm smile. "I came to check on you, Gohan," he said, directing that at her. He paused, then inhaled and brightened considerably. "You're better!" he exclaimed, relaxing more. "Are you okay?"

Piccolo relaxed as well, and she could feel the overwhelming relief coming from him. She gave her former teacher a wide-eyed look, then turned back to her dad. "I – I'm okay," Gohan managed. "I'm good actually."

Goku let out sigh of relief and grinned. She smiled back tentatively.

Piccolo reached out to her, pressing a hand to her upper arm, urging her forwards just a bit. /You should go to him,/ Piccolo told her.

Gohan's smile dropped a bit and she hesitated. /I – I don't really want to,/ she thought back at him. Even though her dad wasn't looking at her the way he had back in the lab, she wasn't sure if she wanted to approach him quite yet.

At that thought she felt Piccolo's hand twitch, claws curling in protectively around her arm for half a second.

She felt it, Goku saw it, his eyes dropping to where Piccolo had his hand against her. He looked up again, the happy relieved expression on his face becoming somewhat confused again. "Gohan," he began. "If you're better, we can go home now if you want," he said, though Gohan could hear the doubt in his voice.

"Just a second, Dad," Gohan replied. She turned back to Piccolo.

/You should go,/ Piccolo said again, sternly.

/I don't want to!/ Gohan replied fiercely, glaring at him. /I want to stay here with you./

She wondered why he felt guilty about that. /What..?/ she began.

He turned on her swiftly, grasping her by both her shoulders. /You're safe now,/ he told her, calmly and deliberately. /There's nothing more I can do for you,/ he paused and she could see his wince at her distress. She desperately tried to push it back, but it all came back to the same thing. He wanted her to go, he didn't want her…

"Don't be ridiculous," he said out loud now, looking like he had just seen or experienced something distasteful. /Gohan, you need to go back down there. I can't help you with this,/ and she knew he was speaking about the fact that she was inevitably going to be carrying a baby. /You need to be with your friends and family and people who CAN help you,/ he let out a slightly audible growl. /I'm not going anywhere, when everything's done I'll still be here./ When she still looked upset he raised his hand and pressed it to the top of her head. /I'll still BE here,/ he thought at her and she could see then… he wanted her stay but he also wanted what was best for her, and what was best for her wasn't up here with him. She was certain then, that he would have sent her away eventually anyway.

She understood, it made sense, she had to face other people, her family and Vegeta. And other things she had completely forgotten about in the chaos of the last couple weeks, like Videl, and high school and… ugh.

/I don't want to do this,/ she said honestly.

/Nevertheless, you must. And if anyone can get though this, you can,/ he replied, and she felt he completely believed that she could. He held a profound amount of confidence her strength and tenacity.

She was quiet for a moment. She didn't feel particularly strong right then. /When everything's done, can I come back?/ she asked, almost timidly.

He hesitated and that hurt almost as much as the fact that he wanted her to leave in the first place. /If you wish,/ he replied quickly. /Decide later,/ he added, his mind voice leaving no room for argument.

She frowned as she inspected him, then reached up, going up on her tip toes as she wrapped her arms around his neck. /Gohan?/ he questioned gently. He started when she pressed her lips to his. /Gohan, your father is right there!/ he exclaimed at her, flustered.

/Don't care,/ she replied and right at that very instant she couldn't care less if the world was crumbling around her. Hell, it felt a bit like it was. Her entire focus narrowed into the kiss and she put everything she had into it.

Now it was his turn to be embarrassed, even as he reluctantly kissed her back. His mind was very aware of the fact that Goku was staring at them currently, and how this looked really bad. He let the kiss continue for a couple more seconds, then he placed his hands on her shoulders and pushed her ever so slightly, urging her to break away. She did, not really wanting to, setting herself back down on the floor and slowly letting him go. She caught the sideways glance he shot at her dad. She turned her head to look at him too. Goku looked like… like he still didn't know what was going on and what he did know he wasn't sure if he particularly liked it. As soon as he saw both were staring at him he managed an unsure smile.

"Gohan, I thought you said you were feeling better," Goku said quietly.

Gohan nodded. "I am," she said with absolute conviction. Piccolo mentally groaned at her.

/It's okay,/ she thought at him, reassuringly. /I kissed you, not the other way around./

/Just get going before he changes his mind about letting me live,/ Piccolo shot back at her darkly.

/He wouldn't, and I won't let him,/ Gohan replied impudently and she got the equivalent of a mental eye roll from Piccolo.

/Just go./ he returned at her, kinder this time. He reached out, put his hand on her back and pushed her forwards.

Gohan sighed as she walked the rest of the way towards her dad, smile fading with every step she took. "So… home, then?" she asked.

Goku looked at her and gave his head a little shake. "Uh, yeah. Yes," he gave Piccolo one last long look, then he held out his hand. "Come on, I'll teleport us back."

.


	6. Into the Fire

**Into the Fire**

.

They reappeared in midair above their house. Her dad let her go to hover in the air beside her. All she could do was stare down at her home below. She could sense her mom down there, and Goten. Nothing was wrong with their ki, everything was perfectly normal. She could imagine Goten was trying to do her school work and her mom was doing the wash. Or yelling at Goten for not concentrating hard enough on her assignments. Or cooking dinner, or any number of things. She brought her fist up, scrubbing it across her eyes, and sighed.

"Gohan?" Goku questioned. He reached out, grasping her shoulder. "Are you sure you're okay?" he asked gently.

She gave him a miserable look. Piccolo had put the shield up again, he had the moment she teleported. Now all she could sense of him was a constant hum in the back of her head. She knew why he did it of course, it was a silent command to go and figure her life out without his influence. But it still _hurt_…

"Yeah," she replied. What else could she say? 'I had sex with Vegeta yesterday, I didn't want to but I didn't have any choice, and by the way I'm in love with my former teacher, who just sent me away and is now refusing to talk to me?' No she wasn't okay, and no she couldn't tell her dad that.

The look on Goku's face and in his eyes told her he doubted her. "I know this has been hard on you…" he began.

She shut her eyes and grimaced. "Dad, I don't really want to talk about it right now," she said with utter and complete honesty.

He nodded slowly. "Okay," he said. "Later then?" he added.

She didn't reply.

He was silent for a long moment, then spoke again. "Do you want to come in now? Or stay out here for a bit?" he asked.

She had expected him to have left her alone by now. Why was he still here? And he wasn't leaving…

Right. Trying his best to help her, that was what he was doing. She should stop being difficult. She drew a deep breath and shot him a look out of the corner of her eye. "… Does Mom know?" she asked.

Goku's eyes widened and he let out a little nervous laugh that she knew enough to be suspicious of. "Yes, yes of course," he said quickly when he saw the look on her face. "She saw Goten yesterday, so I told her about you then."

"Right," Gohan muttered. "Alright, let's get this over with."

.

She had been expecting a somewhat negative reaction, but she didn't expect her Mom to take one look at her and burst into tears the moment she walked into the kitchen.

Gohan froze. Oh boy… "Mom... please don't do that," she said, holding out her hands. When her mom didn't stop crying she continued, a bit frantic. "I'll be back to normal soon. And – and I'll figure out what to do about the baby, I promise…"

Her mom promptly stopped crying and stared at her.

You could have heard a pin drop.

Gohan stared back, then turned on her dad. "I thought you said you told her!" she exclaimed.

Goku spread his hands wide, defensively. "I told her about the girl part! I just didn't… you know, the other part…"

Chichi was white. "Who?" she demanded to know suddenly. "Who hurt my precious Gohan?"

"I wasn't _hurt_..." Gohan began.

"WHO?" That was directed at her father.

"Er… Vegeta," Goku said looking a bit sheepish. He gestured to Gohan quickly. "But Gohan's okay, see?"

Gohan glared. "Not helping, Dad," she hissed.

If anything Chichi blanched even more as she let out a gasp of shock, reaching out to steady herself on the counter. "You... you mean... that... that man is a child molester? All this time? Goten is never visiting Trunks ever again!" she declared.

"Hey!" Gohan tried to interject. "He's not…"

"Chichi, it's okay," Goku tried to reassure her. "Goten's safe, it's just because Gohan was old enough..."

"OH, SO THAT MAKES IT ALL BETTER THEN!"

Goku winced. So did Gohan.

"How DARE you tell me it's okay!" Chichi continued to shout at Goku. "This is your fault!"

Goku's jaw dropped. "How is this my fault?"

"If you had been a normal husband none of this would have happened!"

Gohan shut her eyes. Oh here they went. This was an old fight, she had heard it before. Every time something happened to her specifically, her mom would blame it on her dad and the fact that her dad wasn't human, or didn't have a job, or was off saving the planet instead of being an attentive father…

She was starting to really question why she had even come back here. So… family was a dud, maybe she'd be better off at the Lookout after all. She poked at the mental link in the back of her head, but all she got in reply was the vague sense of "no". The shield didn't waver.

Great. Piccolo was still freezing her out. After all they had shared. After all he had said…

And then she felt irritation to go with "no".

She felt shame wash through her. He could still 'hear' all her thoughts, couldn't he? She knew he felt she was being irrational, as well as wallowing in self pity. It pissed him off. Heck she could see it pissing her off as well if their roles were reversed.

She sighed, steeled herself. Right, dealing with it. She looked up.

"Now, Chichi…" Goku was saying.

Gohan drew in a deep breath.

"I'd still have my two beautiful boys! Instead I have two girls and now you tell me one is pregnant by a monster?"

"Chichi, he's not a monster. And we couldn't..."

Not a monster. No, Vegeta wasn't a monster, was he? Monsters don't do their best to stop themselves from raping children. They don't fight for that. They don't stick around afterwards to console them either…

She studied her father for a moment and suddenly remembered the look he had given her in the lab. She felt a wave of nausea hit her. That look was so different than the slightly confused pleading look he had on his face now, as he held his hands up in a defensive gesture as if to ward off her mom. Like it would actually help.

She got quietly and just as quietly left the room. She walked right out the front door, and just kept walking.

.

A couple hours later found Gohan sitting on the hills behind his house. She felt much better, which is to say she had spent her time staring at nothing and deliberately thinking about nothing as well. It was nice after three weeks to finally be free of the constant need to have sex immediately. It meant she could relax a little.

She half listened to Goten. Her former brother had found her a few minutes ago and was excitedly telling her of her decidedly less traumatic couple of days of being a girl. Gohan had been mostly ignoring her, until…

"… and then when we fused we had both parts!"

Gohan stared at the enthusiastic young girl wordlessly. "You… fused?" She repeated, trying her best to ignore the odd wrenching feeling she got at saying that word.

"Yah-huh!" Goten said happily. "And watch!" She concentrated briefly and burst into Super Saiyan. "Trunks said I'm the first girl Super Saiyan EVER!" the eight year old gave a brief demonstration, zipping through the night air before setting back down next to her sister on the hillside. "See?"

Gohan's mind was still stuck on the fusion. She finally shook her head quickly to clear it. "Goten maybe you shouldn't fuse with Trunks anymore," she said.

Goten powered down. "Why?" she asked.

"It's just…" Gohan sighed. "Never mind." Vegeta could deal with this one. Or her dad. Maybe it didn't matter if the two separated with no ill effects.

"You can be a girl Super Saiyan too, Gohan!" Goten said, climbing up on her lap. "But you'd be second 'cause I did it first," she added.

Gohan shook her head. "I – don't think I can," she said. Actually she probably could but she didn't dare. "Goten, I'm pregnant," she said despondently. "Or will be soon."

"So?" Goten replied.

Gohan shook her head. "I don't know what it'll do to the baby," she replied. Becoming the equivalent of a giant electrical conduit already put their bodies under enough strain, the possible effects on something that was still only a tiny cluster of cells inside of her…

Goten pouted and looked like she was going to say something else when she was interrupted by someone approaching.

It was Goku. Gohan managed to give her father a small humorless smile in welcome, and Goten ran up to him and threw her arms around his legs. "Daddy!" she declared.

Goku laughed and hoisted his youngest child. "Heya Goten," he said. He swung the girl around in a circle before setting her down again. "Can you do Daddy a favour and go help your Mother inside for a bit?" he asked.

Goten nodded. "Bye Gohan!" she said cheerfully before zipping back towards the house.

Goku let out a sigh and sat down in the grass beside Gohan. Gohan offered him another brief smile. He sounded as tired as she felt.

"How are you?" he asked her.

Gohan shrugged. "Been better," she replied. She still didn't want to talk about it, or think about it. She watched as her Dad scratched the back of his head for a bit, then nodded back towards the house. "How's Mom?" she asked.

"She's been better," Goku replied with a small laugh. He looked away, focusing out on the distance with a small smile on his face.

Gohan knew that look. It was her dad's thinking look, harmless on the outside but the clockwork was running like mad on the inside. "What is it?" she asked.

Goku glanced at her, then looked down again, embarrassed. Now Gohan was really becoming concerned.

"What happened, Dad?" she asked, more worried than anything. "What did Mom do?"

Goku looked up, surprised, then held out his hands in a peaceful gesture. "No, she didn't do anything bad Gohan," he said. "I just got back from visiting Bulma."

Gohan raised an eyebrow. Had she been out here long enough for her dad to end his fight with Mom and visit Bulma?

"And?" she replied.

Goku smiled. "Well, we were thinking, maybe it'd be best if you go over there and live with them for a while," he said.

Gohan's jaw dropped and she felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. "Are… are you kidding me?" she replied. "Bulma said that? Dad! I just… I just… with her husband! Now you want me to go LIVE with her? She's going to kill me!"

Goku looked dismayed. "Bulma would never do that!" he protested.

Gohan just looked at him.

Goku shook his head quickly. "She wouldn't. Anyway," he frowned. "I'm not sure how I feel about it either, but she was quite insistent. She seems like she really wants the best for you and…" his eyes fell to her stomach briefly. "She even said they can get you a couple tutors for the rest of the school year and that you'll be right at home."

Gohan's vision was beginning to tunnel a bit now. "I… I can't…" she began. It was only the unexpected flood of reassurance from the link that made her center her thoughts and draw a deep breath.

/You can't possibly think this is a good idea!/ she thought at him, appalled.

He didn't answer with words but he didn't have to for her to know how he felt. He did. Not only that, he felt relieved… and that right now Vegeta and Bulma would be able to take care of her even better than her own parents could. Bulma lived right next to the city, near her school and resources that could help her with the baby. And Vegeta knew far more about Saiyans than her father and could help her if any complications came up. For Piccolo, this was an important strategic move.

/But _Vegeta_…/

She was distracted from her thoughts when Goku reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I know it seems strange to you, but Gohan, it might be the best option we have," he said, echoing the thoughts in her head that didn't even belong to her. "Bulma and Mrs. Briefs have been through this already, they'll be able to support you and Bulma seemed really enthusiastic about the whole thing. I think you'd be in good hands. I trust her."

Gohan's face twisted. "It's not that Dad, it's just… I mean…" she trailed off. "Vegeta's there," she said finally. Bulma aside, if she went over there she'd have to see him again. And seeing Vegeta meant… well, embarrassment, but more than that, and for some reason her mind returned to that damn kiss again.

Goku was studying him now, a deeply concerned expression on his face. "He won't hurt you," he said. A shadow seemed to draw across his normally happy features. "I promise he won't," and there was a small hint of a threat to his voice.

Gohan stared at him then shook her head quickly. "No Dad, I know he won't," she reassured him. She definitely knew Vegeta wouldn't hurt her, that wasn't even an issue and she wondered briefly if her dad and Vegeta had fought with each other about it. Oh God, she hoped not. She also felt the faintest hint of irritation at that… she was perfectly capable of defending herself now that she wasn't in heat now, she used to be stronger than Vegeta, and just because her body changed…

She dragged her mind back to the issue, specifically going over to Bulma's and how much she didn't want to go. Then she paused and thought about that for a moment. She was resisting for no real reason. Sure it would be embarrassing to see Vegeta again, especially in the same house that he shared with his wife, but her dad was right. What options did she have? She couldn't go back to the Lookout, Piccolo'd scold her and kick her out again, especially now that he seemed to support her going to Capsule Corp… and if Bulma was willing to help her out…

She sighed again and climbed to her feet. Her Dad looked up at her with his wide black eyes, questioning her.

"I'll go," she said. "Let me just go back to the house and grab some clothes…"

She paused. She had completely forgotten. All of her clothes were from before. All she had was the simple purple gi Piccolo had given her the night previous. "Oh," she said out loud. Maybe Bulma would have something she could wear… She looked back down at her dad. "Alright," she said. "Take me over there."

Goku smiled and climbed to his feet as well. "I'll come check on you," he promised.

Gohan nodded. Of course he would, which meant that he wouldn't. She felt a sinking feeling of despair as he placed his hand on her shoulder. A second later they winked away.

.

They reappeared in Bulma's lab. The smaller woman sat in a labcoat, hunched over a microscope. She looked up the moment they appeared and smiled. The smile was warm and kind, with not a hint of the animosity that Gohan had feared.

"Gohan," Bulma greeted. "How are you?"

Gohan shrugged. "Been better," she said, not for the first time that day.

Bulma's eyes softened with sympathy and Gohan felt distinctly uncomfortable. She looked away and studied a wall.

"I can imagine," Bulma said. "Tell you what… let me show you where you can stay and get you all settled in," she said. She glanced up and gave a nod to her father.

Goku clasped her shoulder. "Gohan, I'm going to leave you here… Bulma will take good care of you, okay?" he said.

Gohan glanced at him, then nodded. What else was she going to do? She got the distinct impression of being handed from one person to another like she was someone else's problem. Her dad exchanged significant looks with Bulma before giving his old friend a nod and pressing his fingers to his forehead. Goku disappeared.

Gohan stood there, not knowing what to do. Bulma apparently did. She stepped towards the door, motioning her to follow her enthusiastically. "Come on, I'll show you your room," she said. "And tomorrow we can work out what to do about school and maybe even get you some clothes," she wrinkled her nose at what Gohan was wearing, the modified version of Piccolo's clothes. "Definitely need to get you something new to wear," she remarked with a grin and Gohan found herself smiling back despite herself. The tension she felt wore off, just a bit.

They walked right out of the lab and up several flights, finally disappearing into a wing of the building Gohan had only been once or twice before. She rarely had the need to go anywhere near the sleeping quarters of the buildings that made up Capsule Corporation. She could feel Trunks near-by, however, and that comforted her slightly. Bulma paused in front of one of the doors and opened it, gesturing Gohan to follow her.

It was… a beautiful room. At least twice the size of her room at home... full of modern looking furniture and a huge bed. She looked about in awe, only half listening as Bulma took her about the room, pushing open the door to the ensuite bathroom, as well as the large walk-in closet.

"Bulma, I…" Gohan began as she turned to look at the other woman.

Bulma waved her away. "You can thank me later," she said cheerfully. "When we go shopping together," she added with a wink.

Gohan paled considerably. She had been so busy worrying about her friends and family seeing her like this, she hadn't even thought about having to go out in public.

Bulma must have caught the look on her face because she smiled gently again. "Not right away, Gohan, I'll give you some time to get settled first," she walked towards the door, then paused. "Anything you want, just ask alright? And you have free reign of the kitchen, I know how hungry you Saiyans get. And you're eating for two now."

Gohan stared at her, then nodded.

.

Her senses were on alert as she moved about the house sometime later, locating the kitchen and making her way to the counter. She was hyper aware of the fact that Vegeta was close, sometimes only a couple rooms away from her at any given time.

She told herself she was being paranoid for no reason. They had left on good terms the day before, her strength was back, she was clothed at the very least, and Vegeta wasn't someone she had to worry about.

'Vegeta kissed you after you weren't in heat anymore,' her mind decided to remind her. 'He also felt you up…'

Damn it. Gohan clenched the counter top and shut her eyes briefly. Vegeta was, if anything, a friend, not an enemy or even a threat, and definitely not a subject of sexual fantasies. She shuddered, then tried her best to ignore the familiar tingling sensation she felt down below.

She felt a sudden longing for Piccolo to be there, at least with Piccolo she wanted him to touch her, the thought made her feel warm and secure. She knew what to expect from Piccolo, he was nothing if not predictable, and he didn't leave her with this churning feeling that left her confused and agitated…

She shook her head quickly, trying to clear her thoughts. She was being ridiculous. Vegeta was Vegeta, a grouchy former mass murderer turned father, who cared for his family deeply, even if he didn't let on very much or often. Nothing had changed just because he had had sex with her, he was still Vegeta, and she was still Gohan, even if she had a decidedly different body.

Her thoughts distracted her from keeping track of Vegeta's ki. As if to mock her, the Prince of all Saiyans chose that moment to walk into the kitchen.

Gohan froze. She whipped around, accidently knocking a plate to the floor in her haste. She fumbled for it with a noise of protest, scrambling after it. When she finally got it she looked up to see Vegeta regarding her with an expression of faint amusement on his face.

He walked past her casually, going for the fridge. "What are you doing here, brat?" he asked in a bored tone of voice.

'He doesn't care,' Gohan realized. 'This doesn't affect him at all, does it?' he had said as much back at the Lookout…

She stared at him mutely. She watched as he took out what looked like enough steaks to make up half an animal out of the fridge and walked with it over to the stove. "Well?" he said. She then remembered he had just asked her a question.

"I – my mom freaked out and Bulma said I could stay here for a bit…" she trailed off and continued to watch as Vegeta tossed the steaks into a very large frying pan. He switched on the stove and reached up, grabbing a bunch of spices out of the cupboard, sprinkling a couple of them liberally on the meat. It dawned on Gohan that Vegeta was _cooking_. Vegeta, who could very easily roast that much meat with a single ki blast was actually taking the time to cook something. She stood there and stared at him like an idiot.

Vegeta glanced at her. "Sit down," he ordered.

Gohan walked over to the table and sat abruptly.

"How do you like it?" Vegeta asked, making a hand motion to the stove.

"You're… you're cooking something for _me_?" Gohan replied, incredulously. She felt like she had just woke up and walked into an alternate universe. "Why? I mean, you don't have to…"

Vegeta shot her a look and Gohan trailed off. "Can't you just roast it with your finger?" she asked finally.

Vegeta shrugged. "The woman doesn't like ki blasts in the house. Sets a bad example."

Gohan stared, then shook herself slightly. "I guess that makes sense," she replied. Her mom had freaked that once when Goten had accidently shot a hole in the roof, so the same probably applied here…

They lapsed into silence and all Gohan could hear was the sizzling of meat.

"Why did he send you away?" Vegeta asked as he stood with his arms folded across his chest, leaning up against the counter.

It took Gohan a moment to figure out which 'he' Vegeta meant. "Who, Piccolo?" she asked to make sure.

Vegeta gave her a small nod of assent.

"He thought that I'd be better off down here. That - that you and Bulma can take care of me better than he can," Gohan couldn't help the tiny bit of bitterness in her voice.

"He said that?" Vegeta asked.

"More or less," Gohan replied. Actually she was fairly sure he thought it, but come to think of it she didn't think he said it out loud.

Vegeta's eyes narrowed and he gave her a pensive look. "He's right," he said finally, abruptly.

Gohan looked at him questioningly. Vegeta ignored her, flipping the meat over and standing back again. Gohan watched him, then looked at him, really looked at him, like she was seeing him for the first time. In fact she remembered the first time she had seen him, studied him like this, right after their attack when she had been five. Vegeta had called a three hour time out, and, well, since she couldn't leave without being killed she didn't have much else to do but study both him and Nappa.

He looked… different. He had been small back then, thin, almost lithe. Now he was still small, though she was fairly sure he had grown a few inches over the years. And now every time he moved muscles rippled, and spoke of the power held on that compact frame. She wondered if he would be nearly as bulky if he hadn't had that obsession with trying to outdo her father, but then she remembered he hadn't stopped working out one bit during the seven years when her dad was dead, so it probably was just a Saiyan thing. She frowned and touched her stomach gently. The baby, once born, would be nearly full blooded Saiyan. Would it turn out like her dad and Vegeta? Fighters with practically only one focus… to become stronger, better…

Then again, her mother had been a fighter, she fought, Goten had been trained by both her and her mom… what chance did the child have? And Vegeta of course, being the father… there was no chance the child would be anything but a fighter, was there? She hadn't even thought about it before, because she hadn't considered having children before now… but what if the child wanted to do something else? Like become a scholar. That was what she really wanted to do. Had wanted to do, before this entire thing happened…

She frowned and looked out the window, her mind adrift.

Vegeta interrupted her by sliding a plate towards her with two large steaming and still slightly bloody steaks on it.

She looked up at him.

Vegeta ignored her look as he picked up his own food and tore a large chunk out of it with his teeth. "Eat," he commanded once he had swallowed that mouthful. "You're eating for two now."

Gohan schooled a flinch at his words. "Right," she muttered, looking down and picking at her food with far less enthusiasm than Vegeta.

She missed the narrowed eyed, contemplative look Vegeta gave her. When she looked up again he had returned to his meal, ignoring her and tearing into his food with single minded purpose.

.


	7. Solidarity

Thanks again to Damgel for being an awesome sounding board and beta.

.

Solidarity

.

Gohan drifted.

She ate and remembered weeks of being unable to stomach much of anything. She tried to sleep and ended up staring at the ceiling, wondering what she was going to do with a baby and was completely unable to come up with any answer at all.

She bathed and sat in the water with tears welling up in her eyes as she remembered that the last time she was in water Piccolo had bathed her. The link stayed distant and shut off so she wiped of her face and climbed out of the tub. He'd want her to soldier on, she was sure of it, and not think of such inconsequential things.

It ached.

Saturday turned into Sunday, which turned into Monday. Gohan awoke from a very broken sleep on Monday morning to the feeling that she was missing something. She realized that something was school. She had already missed two days…

School made her think of something else and she groaned and rolled over. Videl.

One or two days away from school was one thing, it was possible she had the flu. But after two days and a weekend? Videl was definitely going to know something was wrong.

Gohan groaned again, then sat up and put her head in her hands. What was she going to do? If she showed herself to Videl like this, Videl would freak out for sure…

Urgh. Gohan forced herself out of bed with great effort. She stood still for a long moment, feeling the cold of the floor against her toes. She sighed and went to get dressed, pulling on the sweats and slightly formfitting t-shirt Bulma had given her the day before. At least her shoes still fit.

She made her way down the hall to the front part of the house. She had the vague idea that she'd wait by the school to see if she could attract Videl's attention without calling too much attention to herself.

"Gohan!" a woman's voice exclaimed from behind her as she reached the door. Gohan turned around abruptly, surprised.

Bulma stood with her hands on her hips. "You're not actually planning to go out dressed like that are you?"

Gohan glanced down at herself and looked back up again. "Yes?" she replied.

Bulma looked horrified. "You're not even wearing a bra!" she exclaimed.

Gohan stared at her.

Bulma sighed and then brightened considerably. "Come on, we're going shopping," she said with great enthusiasm.

.

A couple hours later found Gohan standing in front of a mirror in a boutique store, an infinitively proud looking Bulma standing behind her.

Gohan stared at her reflection. She knew she was a woman, goodness knows she had felt every square inch of her new body that she could reach, but the time chamber hadn't had a mirror and she had frankly been avoiding looking at her reflection ever since. But this… new creature that stared back at her was so completely different than herself that it was like she was an entirely new person altogether.

Bulma had taken her to a stylist first, which had led to all sorts of poking and prodding at her face, eyebrows and hair. That had led to the store she was in now, where two older women had stuck her in a bra (which she was rapidly finding uncomfortable against her skin) as well as a skirt and blouse. She hadn't been allowed to see herself until now, and the change was shocking. Her face didn't even really look like hers at all, not anymore.

She reached up, fingering the hem of the blouse with mute fascination, then reached up and touched her hair. It had been cut into something a bit more feminine, still short, but the spikes seemed softer somehow. "What…" she began and that gave her another jolt. She had gotten used to her female voice, and it hadn't hit her until now how… different it was.

Bulma reached out, taking her arm and smiling up at her happily. "You look absolutely gorgeous!" she exclaimed. She turned Gohan away from the mirror and towards the rest of the store. "Let's find you more clothes," she added.

Gohan let herself be led away from the mirror, a numb feeling coming over her.

By the time they had finished Gohan had completely forgotten about school, Videl, or anything else for that matter. She had managed to convince Bulma to let her purchase some normal, if feminine pants and a couple casual t-shirts to go with her multitudes of new skirts and blouses. She wasn't sure if she was ready to go full tilt into wearing the kind of clothes Bulma wore on a constant basis.

.

She felt exhausted by the time she got back home, though she didn't know how much of that was because of the fact that she had been dragged all over the city or the fact that her clothes felt uncomfortable to wear. She was constantly shifting, scratching the straps of her bra where it bit into her shoulders, or adjusting the hem of her short skirt where it seemed to like to ride up without any of her help or permission. She didn't know how other women put up with wearing restrictive clothing like this on a daily basis…

She had also missed another day of school. Bulma didn't seem too terribly concerned as she lit a cigarette and waved her away as she pulled on her lab coat. "We'll have you meet with the tutor tomorrow," she said with a smile. "Don't worry, you'll be caught up in no time."

Gohan nodded reluctantly and decided that she wouldn't tell Bulma that it probably wasn't too incredibly sanitary to be smoking in the lab. She was pretty much the head of the company after her dad, she could do whatever she wanted.

Instead Gohan wandered off to her room.

Putting her new clothes away took decidedly less time than she expected. She then found herself extremely stuck for something to do.

She considered. She supposed could always go to Videl's place and have that talk with her now. She made a face and shook her head no. She would have a hard enough time explaining herself to Videl, let alone Mr. Satan. And it would be just her luck if Buu decided to make a comment or two and gave everything away before Gohan had a chance to get a word in.

She drifted, again, wandering up and down the halls of the house, and eventually found herself outside. She wandered the ample grounds as the sun set, casting long shadows over the walking paths between the buildings.

She nearly ran right into him.

Vegeta. She froze, breath catching in her throat. He looked just as surprised as she was, which lasted about half a second. Then his eye narrowed.

Suddenly she felt very VERY exposed as Vegeta slowly raked his gaze up and down her body.

She flushed, feeling her cheeks heat up and suddenly wishing she had worn pants instead of a skirt before wandering about the place. And maybe a baggier shirt…

"I'm assuming my wife dressed you," he spoke after a lengthy pause, amusement in his voice.

Gohan tugged on a shirt sleeve self consciously. "Yeah," she said and cleared her throat, eyeing him warily. The look he was giving her definitely wasn't anything like how he had semi-ignored her when he cooked for her the other day.

Vegeta's smirk grew. Now it was about the same way it was when he was assessing an enemy that he'd decided was weaker than he was. He took a couple steps forward and she backed up to keep the distance between them both, wondering fleetingly if he was going to attack her.

When she couldn't go any further, backed up against one of the sides of the house, he stopped, still smirking, as he eyed her up again. "V-vegeta?" she questioned. He all out grinned, and took another step towards her. They were practically chest to chest now.

… and she was enjoying this. Her breathing sped up, the tingling between her legs was back and she gulped. A hand fell to her waist, smoothing down the skirt on the outside of her leg. "You know what skirts are good for?" he leaned forwards and purred in her ear.

Gohan shook her head mutely.

"Easy access," he replied, like it was the most natural thing in the world. His hand traced along the bottom of her skirt, and then his fingers slid underneath it, touching the bare skin of her upper thigh. She jerked at the contact, raising a hand to place it on his shoulder. She didn't know whether it was to push him away or hold him in place, but he captured that hand and held it against the side of the house as his other hand continued to creep up until was just touching the edge of her panties.

"Oh... oh God," Gohan stuttered, feeling her knees grow weak. Her head swam. She wasn't in heat any longer, why was this happening to her?

She could _feel _his smirk as he turned his finger inwards, touching her through the cloth. "You're wet," he said. "Find this enjoyable do we?" that finger began to move and Gohan let out a squeak and shut her eyes. At the same time she mentally cursed Bulma for putting her in the damn skirt to begin with. And… that made her remember in a rush.

"Bulma!" she gasped, her eyes snapping open again. She jerked her hand free and shoved at Vegeta, scrambling away from him. "Vegeta, _Bulma_! You're mar—"

He tackled her before she could finish and they landed in a heap, the prince on top of her with her hands pinned beside her head. He looked pleased. "Bulma said I can do whatever I want with you," he said smugly.

Gohan stared up at him, blinking owlishly. "She did?" she replied. She felt extremely confused and a tiny bit betrayed. "But… why…"

He grinned at her. "Why not?" he asked, and he let one of her hands go to place it back on her upper thigh. She was a bit appalled to feel his hand touch her skin… her skirt had somehow gotten hiked up the entire way.

"Vegeta…" she began. She drew in a quick breath through her teeth as that hand coasted closer to…

"Vegeta, stop."

She hadn't expected that to work but it did. He let her go instantly, then sat back, inspecting her silently for a moment. He seemed to decide something and got to his feet, letting her go entirely.

"Get up," he said.

Gohan slowly did so, brushing herself off and tugging her skirt down. She looked at him wordlessly and he narrowed his eyes at her. "Go inside," he said abruptly.

She blinked, still confused and now slightly irritated at being ordered around like a child. "Vegeta, what the hell…"

That got a twitch at the side of his mouth. At least he found her amusing. She would have rolled her eyes if she wasn't too busy glaring.

"Go talk to Bulma," he said cryptically before blasting off into the air. She watched him fly off and disappear from sight with her jaw slightly ajar.

"What… just happened?" she muttered to herself. She pressed a hand to the side of her head briefly before picking up and walking back towards the house.

.

Gohan found her in the lab, brow knit in concentration as she poured over some sort of schematic drawing. She watched her for a while as she pushed one sheet aside, overlapped another sheet overtop of the one she was currently looking at and made a 'hmm' sound. Bulma pushed another sheet aside, then went to the giant computer screens that took up the entire far wall. Gohan watched as she called up some more schematic drawings.

She almost didn't want to interrupt her. Gohan hesitated, wondering if it would be best to come bother Bulma when she wasn't at work. The memory of her recent run in with Vegeta convinced her not to. No, she needed to talk about this, no matter how uncomfortable it was. It wasn't like she could just avoid this; she lived in the same house as both of them now.

She cleared her throat nervously.

Bulma looked up, a faintly startled look on her face which quickly turned into a smile. That was another thing. Why was Bulma being so nice to her? Really? Well, besides the fact that she had calmed down a lot since Gohan had known her as a child, but she had been suspiciously kind to her ever since this thing began. She wondered if it had anything to do with what Vegeta had said, about Bulma saying he could do whatever he wanted with her. Which… bothered her.

"What is it Gohan?" Bulma asked. She looked her once over, taking in her slightly disheveled state and made an educated guess as to what Gohan might be here for. At the same time she smiled a bit ruefully to herself. If Vegeta had tried to do anything with Gohan, that hadn't taken very long at all. It had been all of three days… and a little over two days since the girl had come to live with them.

And Gohan didn't look too terribly comfortable. Bulma made a hand motion for her to come over and sit at the table, pushing aside the drawings to make room.

Gohan sat and Bulma sat opposite of her, pulling her package of cigarettes out of one of her labcoat pockets. She usually didn't smoke very often, but today was a bit of a special case. "What is it?" she asked after she lit one and took a drag from it.

Gohan made a slight face at her about the cigarette, but there were more important things on her mind right now than someone else's bad habits. "Bulma, uh... did," she choked on her words and forced herself to continue. "Did – did you tell Vegeta he could, you know, do things with me? If he wanted?" she paled considerably as she said it.

There was something in Gohan's voice that seemed off to Bulma. "I don't think I phrased it quite like that…" Bulma frowned ever so slightly. "Gohan, did he do something to you that you didn't want him too?" she asked, very seriously. She might be okay with Vegeta doing whatever he wanted with Gohan, but ONLY if Gohan was okay with it as well.

Gohan blinked and looked away quickly, her cheeks flaring up bright red. "I... no, not exactly," she replied, but now she wouldn't look at her.

Bulma's frown grew. "If he did something to you…" she began, and there was a hint of a threat to her voice. She didn't care what she told Vegeta he could do, if he took advantage of Gohan…

"No, it's not like that," Gohan waved her hands around.

Bulma inspected her closely. On second thought, the girl looked embarrassed, but not harmed or traumatized. She felt relieved. "Okay, well if he does, you just need to tell him to stop and he should, okay? And if he doesn't you come talk to me…" she continued.

"He did stop and oh God... why are you doing this?" Gohan exclaimed, putting her head in her hands abruptly. She shook her head, her hands still covering her face, then yanked them away to stare up at her, looking totally and completely destitute. "Bulma," she began. "I slept with your husband."

Bulma nodded, then frowned. "Wait… today, or back on Thursday?"

"… Thursday," Gohan replied.

Bulma snorted. "Well, that's fine then," she said. "I thought you were going to say he got you to have sex with him today," she took another drag of her cigarette.

"… and if he did?" Gohan asked tonelessly.

Bulma shrugged. "I would have thought he'd wait a little bit longer, is all," she looked concerned. "I don't want you to do anything you don't want to, so I'm glad he stopped when you told him too," now she smiled, looking proud. "I'm glad. He's changed a lot hasn't he? Remember when he used to blow shit up when he got pissed off? I think I reconstructed that stupid gravity chamber at least a dozen times…"

Gohan had gone back to staring at her like she had grown two heads.

Bulma reached across the table and patted her on the hand. "Gohan I really don't mind," she said. "Just remember to tell him to stop if you don't want his attention and he'll leave you alone, I promise."

Gohan drew in a deep breath. "Yeah, okay," she said.

"And if you do want his attention, that's okay too," Bulma added sincerely. She was suddenly quite proud at how well she was handling this. And amazingly, saying that didn't make her feel all that jealous. If anything she felt protective of Gohan.

Gohan twitched, then played her fingers along the top of the table. "Okay," she replied and took a deep breath, her jaw clenching. "Okay." Bulma smiled gently. There was the determined steeled will she had seen from Gohan while she was growing up. Good. The kid was going to be okay.

Gohan frowned and was silent for a long moment before looking up again. "Why though?" she asked. "If… if someone I was married to slept with someone else, I don't know if I'd be okay with it."

Bulma nodded, then sighed, taking a last drag and putting out her cigarette. This… was harder to explain. She concentrated, trying to sort out her feelings before she spoke. "Gohan… he's not human," she started. "I know… both he and your father ACT human most of the time, but they're not. I know I married a space alien," she smiled at that, then pressed on. "If anything this last week proved it. You're not human either… well, not entirely anyway." She looked Gohan up and down briefly. "Right now you're a very attractive Saiyan woman. I'm not going to deny either of you the chance to be with your own kind. You'll only be like this for a little while, and you're pregnant with his child. Who am I to say that you can't be close to the person who knocked you up?" she paused, tapping her fingers on the table. "Honestly? I'd rather know what's going on and know that you're okay, then make your life… and his… harder by making a big deal out of this. As long as he's happy and you're happy, right now that's what's most important." She had a feeling that was the most mature thing she had ever said in her life.

Gohan shook her head slowly, an expression of dawning realization coming over her face. "You… you really love him don't you?" she said quietly. It was the only explanation she could think of. Why else would Bulma be doing this? There was nothing in it for her, except knowing she might have done something that made her partner happy… if that wasn't love she didn't know what was.

Bulma rolled her eyes. "Well, of course. How else do you think I've put up with his royal pain in the ass so long?" she replied. "I care about what happens to you too, Gohan," she reached out and patted Gohan on the hand again before getting to her feet. She paused to give her a very serious look. "You make sure you come tell me if he does anything you don't want him to, okay?" she said. "I'll give him what for," and she cracked her knuckles.

It occurred to Gohan that it was a bit weird that Bulma was telling her that she'd protect her from Vegeta when Bulma was only a human… but then again this was the human that had somehow managed to tame Vegeta over the years. Which was a feat unto it's self. Sure, she could probably beat the crap out of Vegeta… if she got angry enough… but in the end the person he'd listen to with no violence required was Bulma.

Gohan grinned awkwardly and got to her feet as well. "Thanks Bulma," she said sincerely.

"No problem Gohan," Bulma smiled back. She paused and watched as Gohan shuffled her feet, seemingly disinclined to leave, and remembered something. "By the way … how's Piccolo handling all this?" She asked gently.

She wasn't sure how things were going between the Namekian and Gohan but she certainly didn't expect the reaction she got. Gohan stared at her, shocked, and then her face crumpled.

"I'm sorry," Gohan said miserably, running a hand across her face. There was a very long pause as she stared at the floor and Bulma watched with growing concern as Gohan had to swipe at her face again.

"Gohan?" she questioned. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean…"

"It's okay," Gohan shook her head quickly. "He… uh…" she stopped and looked up, and Bulma could see the tears in her eyes. "I don't know what's wrong with me..." she said, looking both heartbroken and utterly confused.

Bulma recovered quickly. Apparently Gohan had a lot more weighing on her mind than Vegeta's opportunistic advances, and it looked like that had a lot to do with a certain green alien...

It seemed that they had a bit more talking to do.

"Oh don't worry about crying, that's normal," Bulma explained airily. "It's the hormones. Specifically elevated levels of prolactin in your system... there is absolutely nothing wrong with you," she stripped off her lab coat and made a hand wave to the charts on the table. "This can wait until tomorrow... let's go upstairs. I'll get you some ice cream and you can tell me all about it," she placed a friendly arm around Gohan's shoulders and led the girl from the room.

.

About an hour and three buckets of ice cream later, Gohan finished telling Bulma pretty much everything that happened to her on Thursday, especially the parts that had to do with Piccolo. She felt a bit guilty talking about things involving her and Piccolo when Piccolo could probably still see and hear everything she was saying, but at that moment she didn't particularly care. Piccolo was still ignoring her and she was just glad to have someone to talk to about it who wasn't her dad. It wasn't like her dad would understand anyway…

She saw Bulma trying to stifle a smile a couple times when she mentioned kissing Piccolo, but she managed to keep her amusement in. That is, until Gohan mentioned that her dad teleported in while she had been lip locked with the grumpy alien. Bulma lost it then, erupting into gales of laughter. "I'm sorry Gohan! I'm not laughing at you I just… oh, I wish I was there to see it," she gasped, wiping tears from her eyes. "How did... how did your dad take it?"

Gohan made a face. "He didn't look too happy, but he didn't say anything," she said.

"Oh _Goku_," Bulma shook her head and smiled. "And Piccolo? What did he do?"

"Nothing much," Gohan shrugged sheepishly. "It stressed him out though," she replied more seriously. She sighed and looked out of the window. "So yeah, he sent me off with my dad and ever since then he's refused to talk to me," she paused. "Though I think he'll talk to me again once I'm back to being a guy."

Bulma huffed. "Well if he won't talk to you after all that, then he's being a big jerk," she said.

Gohan shrugged again. "Er, it's not that, it's just... he wants me to figure out my life first before making any decisions regarding him."

"So he just abandoned you?"

Gohan paused. "I – I suppose that's one way to..."

"So he goes and abandons you when you need him the most!" Bulma exclaimed. She folded her arms across her chest. "So friggin' typical. Men!"

Gohan looked a bit alarmed. "It's not that bad, really..."

Bulma would have none of it. "Didn't he abandon in a forest for six months when you were a kid?"

Gohan made a face. "Desert. And that was a really long time ago..."

Bulma glared. "How is this any different?" she asked.

"I..." Gohan blinked. "Actually that really helped me learn how to take care of myself..."

"Oh, now you're defending him!" Bulma pointed her spoon at her.

Gohan actually smiled at that. "I suppose I am. I know how his mind works," she said. Oh, how did she. "And he can be quite stubborn once he puts his mind to something..."

Bulma huffed again and looked like she was about to continue arguing when someone walked into the kitchen and interrupted her. Gohan looked up, surprised. She expected maybe one of Bulma's parents, she didn't expect to see Vegeta standing there.

Vegeta gave them an extremely wary look as he inspected them both, the way they were sitting, the decimated ice cream containers, and the used tissues. Without even saying anything he turned heel and walked right back out of the kitchen again.

Bulma giggled, she couldn't help it, and she heard Gohan start to giggle as well. The giggles turned into all out laughter for both of them. Bulma could just imagine the expression on Vegeta's face as he made a hasty retreat.

When they both quieted Gohan fidgeted a bit, a smile still on her face. "Thanks," she said quietly. "I feel a lot better. You've been really cool Bulma."

Bulma grinned. "It's no problem. It's great to have another person around here to talk to, outside of my parents. Trunks is nine, Yamcha is never around, and Vegeta… isn't exactly the most winning conversationalist," she said the last bit in a lowered voice, her tone conspiratorial.

Gohan chuckled, then fell silent, turning her head to gaze out the window.

Bulma sat up. "There's something else bothering you, isn't there," she said. It wasn't a question.

Gohan glanced back at her and hesitated. "Well sort of... I mean..."

Bulma smiled and made a hand motion for Gohan to continue. "Come on, out with it, we have all night. Should I get another bucket of ice cream?"

Gohan laughed. "No no, it's okay," she smiled for a moment, which faded as she heaved a large sigh. "… I still have no idea what I'm going to tell Videl," she admitted. "I mean, I've kind of cheated on her twice now. Vegeta..." she shifted uncomfortably, "is one thing, it's not like I had much of a choice, but how do I explain Piccolo? 'Hey Videl I kissed that giant green alien you met at the tournament. I really liked it too.' She's going to kill me."

Bulma shot her a sympathetic look. "You could always tell her the truth."

Gohan just looked at her.

"Yeah, I know," Bulma replied. She realized how silly that sounded the moment she said it. She considered, looking pensive. "But she does know you're only half human right? And really weird things happen to all of us, especially with Goku around. If you try to explain it, maybe leave out some details, she might be okay." She gave Gohan a contemplative look. "The question is, how do you feel about Videl?"

Gohan was silent, inspecting her hands as she twisted a napkin around her fingers. "I - I don't know." she muttered. "I thought I DID know, but this happened, and now the thought of ever seeing her again makes me feel nauseous."

"That's just nerves," Bulma replied, waving her hand in the air. "What's the worst she can do?"

"Kill me," Gohan replied with absolute conviction.

Bulma snorted, then laughed. "Gohan you're one of the strongest people in the universe. She won't be able to touch you if you don't want her to."

Gohan made a sound in the back of her throat. "You don't know Videl," she said.

Bulma rolled her eyes again. "Alright fine," she tilted her chair back, flicking her spoon between her fingers. "Okay, what are our options," she began listing on her fingers. "You could tell her the complete truth, everything about the sex, the pregnancy, all that fun stuff, and hope that she takes it well." Gohan looked sick. "Second option, we let her down easy... tell her a half truth, that you got turned into a girl, you're confused right now and you need some time away. That'll buy you some time. Third, you work the love angle. 'I'm sorry Videl, I can't continue this relationship anymore, I'm in love with someone else'. You don't have to give any details at all."

"I don't think I can do that one," Gohan replied.

Bulma shook her head. "Yeah, I don't recommend it either. It's only been a few days, and you have all those lovely hormones flying around your body, messing with your mind, and all that. I'd honestly stick to something between option A and option B. You can still do C later on if you want."

Gohan still looked like she was in pain.

Bulma stuck her spoon back into the ice cream bucket. "Orrrr," she drawled out. "We could send her a letter from you saying you're off saving the universe or something like that, and that you'll be back in eight months. After you give birth, you get turned back into a guy, we adopt the child... goodness knows it'll probably look like Vegeta anyway - the poor thing - and you go back to your life like nothing's changed."

Gohan inspected her hands. "... Everything's changed," she said quietly.

Bulma reached out and put her hand over Gohan's. "I know," she replied. "Tell you what, why don't you think about it... give it another night. If you tell her and it goes badly, you know I'm always here to talk to afterwards."

.

That was how Gohan came to be skulking around the schoolyard of Orange Star High School the next day, hoping to get a glimpse of Videl as the rest of the students came streaming out of the building.

.


	8. Adjusting

.

**In this exciting new chapter (no seriously, stuff actually happens in this chapter… well at the end at least)**: Awkward conversations are had (like there hasn't been enough awkward conversations in the last three chapters), and Vegeta makes a rather fail attempt at therapy.

**Special thanks**: To my beta Damgel, without whom this fic would have probably stalled out. Luckily for everyone I want to read more of her Piccolo/Gohan AU WIP, (that she insists on not posting until it is somewhat close to completed), which means I need bribery material. Which would be this fic. :P And now you all know how to get me to write things…

.

**Chapter 8**

Adjusting

.

The next day was their first day of school with the tutor. This meant Gohan found herself sitting at a desk in one of the many rooms of the house, with Trunks sitting in the desk next to her.

Uncomfortable silence reigned. That is, until Trunks decided to speak. "So... Gohan..." the lavender haired boy piped up, staring up at her with his wide blue eyes. "Did you really have sex with my dad?"

Gohan coughed and paled. That she hadn't expected. She stared down at the boy, who incidentally had been avoiding her for the last three days. Now she could guess why. "Who told you that?" she replied, her eyes narrowing.

Trunks shrugged. "Everyone was freaking out the other day about how you had to get pregnant with a Saiyan. Well, there's only two Saiyans… your dad and my dad… and my mom said you're pregnant now. So… was it my dad?"

"I'm not telling you anything," Gohan grumbled, looking away.

"So you did have sex with my dad! That's totally gross!" the boy exclaimed.

Gohan turned back to him. "Shut up!" she snapped. She lowered her voice into a hiss. "It's not like I had any choice, no thanks to you."

Trunks blinked and shut up. Briefly. Then: "… What was it like?" he asked.

"TRUNKS!" Gohan exclaimed, slapping her hands down on the desk.

That got another couple minutes of silence, which didn't last of course. "… If you're pregnant and my dad is the dad of the baby in you, that makes the baby my brother right?"

Gohan put her head in her hands. "… Yes Trunks," she replied in a self suffering voice.

"Okay, cool! I'm going to have a little baby brother," Trunks looked unduly pleased with himself. He managed to sit quietly for a couple more seconds. "If you're going to give birth to my baby brother, does that make you my mom?"

Gohan groaned. Loudly. "No I… I don't know. Trunks, why don't you ask your parents?" she said a little too snidely, and then felt guilty.

Luckily the sarcasm was lost on the boy. "Are you kidding?" Trunks said, his eyes wide. "They're both still mad at me for turning you into a girl. No way," he folded his arms across his chest and pouted.

Gohan found she didn't have a lot of sympathy for him.

The teacher decided to walk in the room then, saving Gohan from having to answer any more awkward questions. She was a middle-aged woman with graying hair and giant round glasses. She took in the new girl sitting in the desk in front of her, then adjusted her glasses and looked down at the pile of papers she carried in her hands. "Gohan, I presume?" she said as she looked from the paper to the girl and back again. "My name is Ms. Burchert. I picked up your records from Orange Star High School," she held them up slightly, and raised an eyebrow. "It says here that you are a boy."

"I... there must be some sort of mistake," Gohan replied helplessly, feeling her cheeks burn. "I'm obviously not…" Trunks started to laugh, loudly, clenching his sides, and she turned to the side and kicked his desk.

"Yes, well…" the teacher gave her a stern look, or more precisely her foot. "Mistake or not… I don't take kindly to misbehavior in my classroom, _especially_ if there are just two of you."

"Yes ma'am," Gohan replied, tucking her feet back under her chair, duly chastised. Even Trunks managed out a "yeah, okay," but he was still snickering behind his hand.

Gohan sighed mentally. At this rate it was going to be a very long school year.

.

Her classes were over before the regular high school classes were done, thankfully. She left her new homework in a pile on her bed and quickly changed.

She hid in the bushes once she got to the school… the last thing she wanted was for anyone to see her like this.

She waited until Videl separated from the rest of the students and began to walk towards her home. Gohan knew from experience Videl wouldn't fly until she was a couple blocks away, she tried to avoid calling attention to that particular ability as much as she could. Being a super strong fighter and showing off to the entire high school that she could fly were two totally different things. One of those two things normal people couldn't do.

Gohan found herself lost in thought and had to scramble to keep up with her. She was just about to tap the girl on the shoulder to get her attention when Videl turned around and lashed out.

Gohan found herself very quickly flat on her back with an angry looking Videl straddling her chest, her fist raised.

"AH!" Gohan exclaimed, bringing her hands up to defend herself. Videl's eyes widened and just as quickly as she had attacked she was off of her again and helping her to her feet.

"Sorry!" the petite girl exclaimed. "I thought you were following me!" she stopped suddenly, taking Gohan in as she stood and dusted herself off. Videl's eyes widened. "…You look just like my boyfriend," she said. She blinked and shook her head as if to push that thought from her head. "I really am sorry," she apologized again. "I thought you were going to attack me."

"That's okay," Gohan replied, and managed a small smile. She knew Videl was well trained, she definitely shouldn't have approached her from behind.

Videl gave her a curious look. "Are you… are you related to Son Gohan by any chance? A cousin or something? I know he doesn't have any sisters..."

Gohan stared at her. She really didn't recognize her? But of course she wouldn't… last week she had definitely been a guy... and after Bulma's makeover the day before she barely recognized herself.

"Videl…" Gohan began, her heart pounding a mile a minute. She forced herself to continue. "_I'm_ Gohan."

Videl stared.

"That's impossible…" Videl started to say slowly. Gohan shrugged sheepishly and now Videl's brow knit in utter confusion. "_Gohan_?"

Gohan nodded and reached behind her head, scratching it. It was really hard to look at her and the dumbfounded expression on her face and she shyly looked down at her feet instead.

"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO YOU?" Videl exclaimed. She reached out, grabbing Gohan by the arms, shaking her briefly, before looking her over, turning her around to see her from the side, back, around to the front again. She reached out and grabbed the neckline of Gohan's shirt, jerking it down to see her chest.

"Hey!" Gohan protested.

Videl let her shirt go. "Gohan!" She stared up at her boyfriend. "YOU'RE A GIRL!"

Gohan nodded. "I know," she replied.

Videl took a step back. And then another. The utterly confused look on her face grew. Her mouth opened and closed a couple times until she finally managed to gain control of her shock. "Why and HOW?" she demanded to know.

Gohan glanced up and down the street. "Er… it's a long story. Can we talk about this somewhere… else?" she asked.

Videl blinked. Slowly. Several times. Finally she nodded abruptly. "Yeah," she said. She lifted off the ground and hovered a couple of inches in the air. "Okay. Come on," she turned and began to fly away. Gohan half expected her to start flying towards her house, but saw that instead she was heading closer to the taller buildings near the center of the city. Gohan lifted off and followed after her.

Videl ended up landing on the rooftop of one of the higher buildings. She stood there for a moment, then walked over to the edge, sitting down on it. Gohan hesitated for a moment, then landed and carefully walked over to her.

When Videl didn't move Gohan settled down beside her, looking down to the street several stories below. Videl's feet swung back and forth as she gazed down between her legs as well. "What happened?" she asked finally.

Gohan cleared her throat and settled back. "It… it was a wish. My little brother and Trunks made it," she said. "They said they wanted more kids like them," she hesitated. "I didn't know about it until I woke up like this…"

"Was that on Thursday?" Videl asked.

Gohan nodded.

"I wondered. I was worried about you, you know."

There was nothing much she could say to that. "I'm sorry," Gohan said.

Videl accepted that with a nod and sat, thinking for a moment. She then turned her head to look at her, her brow crinkled. "But if they wanted more kids like them, why on Earth would you get turned into a girl?"

"It wasn't just me…" Gohan replied. "It turned Goten into a girl as well."

Videl's eyes widened. "You're joking," she exclaimed.

Gohan shook her head. "I wish I were," she said.

The incomprehension grew in Videl's eyes. "But… why girls?" she asked. "If they wanted more kids to play with, why didn't the dragon just make new kids?"

Gohan shrugged. She waited, and she didn't have to wait long. Videl was a good deal smarter than she was at putting details together. "It… it can't," she said slowly. "The dragon can't make kids appear out of thin air, can it?" when Gohan continued to look at her, her eyes widened. "And there aren't any women like you and your dad are there? Which means…" she stopped suddenly and stared. "You'll be expected to have children?" she didn't even sound like she believed herself.

Gohan suddenly found it impossible to look at her. Instead she looked down at the street below again, a faint flush covering her cheeks.

"Gohan," Videl paused, then reached out, touching her arm. "Gohan," she took her arm and shook her slightly. "Gohan!"

When Gohan finally got up the nerve to look at her, she found she was being frowned at, a pensive look on Videl's face and her gaze penetrating. "What happened," she said. It wasn't a question.

Gohan actually jumped at the ferocity of her voice. "N-nothing!" she stammered. "What makes you think anything happened?" she was lying now and Videl knew it clear as day. That made her narrow her eyes even more.

"GOHAN," there was a warning hint in her voice now and she raised her fist. "TELL. ME. What happened," her fist fell away quickly as her eyes widened again. Gohan had a hand pressed to her stomach now… she had done it unconsciously. Videl looked from Gohan's hand and back up again to her face. "You're a girl," she said flatly. "You can get pregnant."

Gohan looked away quickly, but she was sure her flinch gave her away.

"You're… supposed to get pregnant. Because of the wish," Videl further hypothesized.

Gohan nodded slowly again and studied her hands. At least she didn't have to do nearly as much explaining as she thought she was going to have to. Videl was doing it all for her.

The unearthly silence from Videl was excruciating for Gohan. When she spoke again her voice was quiet, clipped. "Gohan… did you… did you sleep with someone during these last few days?"

Gohan drew in a quick breath and let it out again. Here it went. Everything up until now had been easy, comparatively. "Not… not exactly by choice," Videl was silent and she spared her a glance. She didn't look too mad… slightly hurt maybe, and still curious. Gohan sighed and struggled for the words. "Videl…I - I didn't know this, but women of my… well, my dad's race… they're not like humans. You know… with the entire getting pregnant whenever thing. Apparently women Saiyans… they go into heat. I – I went into heat. Only a few hours after the wish was made. I… I'm sorry Videl… I couldn't control it…"

Videl scrambled to her feet. Gohan slowly got up as well.

"So… you ARE pregnant?" the girl said incredulously. "You're a girl. And you're pregnant," she repeated, as if trying to convince herself.

"Yes," Gohan replied.

Videl looked like she was going to kill someone… hopefully not her.

Gohan stared at her and finally Videl relaxed and stepped towards her, holding out her hand. She took Gohan's hand in her own. "But you couldn't control what… whatever happened to you?" she continued, almost pleadingly. Like she wanted so much to believe this was a misunderstanding or a mistake… which it was.

Gohan shook her head. "I couldn't control any of it," she said, and it was the truth… the Vegeta bit at least. Guilt ate at her.

The hand on her own tightened. "Isn't that, like… rape?" Videl asked.

Gohan shifted uncomfortably. "I… suppose, a little, but Videl… I was dying."

"Dying?" the girl exclaimed. "In a DAY?"

Gohan shook her head. "They put me in the Time Chamber up on the Lookout. They wanted… well Dad and Vegeta and Piccolo wanted me to get through the heat thing without having to, you know… ah, get pregnant. But then… it got to the point that I couldn't even move, so then they had to… anyway. Things happened and now…" she patted her stomach.

Videl's face screwed up into a grimace. "That's terrible Gohan," she said. "It must have been horrible for you."

"It wasn't the most pleasant experiences of my life, no," Gohan admitted. "… I wasn't even really aware of it though."

Videl nodded solemnly. She inspected Gohan for a long moment, then stepped forwards and unexpectedly threw her arms around the other girl, drawing her into a hug. What she expected was for Gohan to hug her back, or just laugh nervously, but instead she just stood there, stiff as a board.

Gohan didn't even know why she did it. Mentally she panicked. The worst was over, why didn't she just hug her back? Hug her back and everything would just go back to normal…

She realized the reason. Because she didn't want to go back, did she? What she had said to Bulma was true. Everything had changed.

Videl slowly let him go. Now she looked genuinely hurt. "Gohan, it's okay… I get it… you didn't have a choice," she said.

Gohan hesitated, then hung her head, studying the gravel she stood on. She needed to say this. Or at least she felt she did. "I didn't have a choice with him, no," she replied softly.

Videl froze. "What do you mean?" she said, a dangerous note to her voice.

Gohan flinched and forced herself to meet her gaze. "I… Piccolo. He was taking care of me afterwards, and it… we… it kind of just happened…" she flinched and waited.

Now Videl looked stunned. She had just found out her boyfriend was a girl, pregnant and had had sex with another man (at least she assumed it was a man, Gohan hadn't said who had done it) and nothing compared to the shock she felt right then. "Piccolo?" she repeated. "Like that green guy from the tournament, Piccolo?"

Gohan looked miserable. At the same time she felt a well of irritated discontent from the mind link. Piccolo was listening in… and he didn't want her to be having this conversation, about him at least. She got it. He didn't want anything that happened with him affect his relationship with his girlfriend.

That bothered her… he hadn't spoken to her in days and now? /You don't get to tell me what to do!/ she shot at him. /You gave up any right to that when you sent me away to deal with this on my own!/

/Gohan.../ he began, and she felt his astonishment at being yelled at. She didn't care. She was suddenly, unexpectedly furious at him.

/Back _off_, Piccolo,/ she snapped mentally.

She felt a fleeting sense of… _hurt_ from the link, which surprised her, she didn't think it was even possible to hurt his feelings like that. He shut down the link again. With a snap. She flinched. She instantly felt even more guilty than she already did. She shouldn't have done that. He was only trying to look out for her.

/Piccolo,/ she thought, even though she knew he had severed the connection, or came as close as he could without causing her physical pain. /Hey… look, I'm sorry…/ But it was useless. He was gone. There wasn't even a twitch from the mind link.

When she looked up again Videl was staring at her with tears in her eyes. Gohan froze. Oh, crap, now she had made her cry. "Videl…" she began, reaching out for her this time. "Videl, I'm sorry, I…" repeating the apology she had just made to Piccolo out loud.

It was about as successful. Videl actually took a step back. Then another. The hurt on her face was raw and she shook her head quickly. "It's okay Gohan," she said in a slightly breathy voice which betrayed the fact that things really weren't alright. "I just..." she took another step back. "I just need time to think…"

Gohan nodded wordlessly. What else was she going to say?

Videl drew in a deep breath and shook her head. "I'm sorry… I'll see you later, okay?"

Gohan dropped her hand and nodded again. With that Videl turned and blasted off into the air, leaving Gohan standing alone on the rooftop.

.

It took her hours to finally get home again that night. When she got there she went right to her room, curled up tightly into her blankets, shut her eyes and wished for sleep.

It stubbornly refused to come.

.

To add insult to injury she still had dreams of his memories. She'd wake in the morning having just dreamt something that she knew happened to Piccolo, not her... fighting android 17 for example, or merging with Nail. As she awoke for a very brief time she'd sense him right there in her mind with her, relaxed and unblocked. He was usually calm, his emotions level and she really enjoyed sensing him with her. It wouldn't last long though. Once she woke up enough to become aware of her surroundings he'd fade back to the background noise at the edge of her mind, like she had become used to.

She wondered how much effort it was taking him to keep that block up all the time. Probably a lot, she imagined, especially if he was letting the link go while she slept. She wondered if that was the only reprieve he got from this. She felt fleetingly guilty, and she definitely wished she hadn't yelled at him when she was talking to Videl. By doing that she pretty much affirmed that he'd stay distant for the next how ever many months, and put all of the effort and energy he had into keeping himself out of her mind as much as possible.

She felt lonely. She knew it was silly to think that way and tried to force the feeling back. It wasn't like he was gone, really, physically he was within reaching distance, all she had to do was fly to get to him. He wasn't dead, or on another planet, or anything like that.

It still ached.

The day after her discussion with Videl, Bulma cornered her in the kitchen and asked her how it went, her wide blue eyes warm and sympathetic. Gohan told her about her conversation with Videl, leaving out the part about Piccolo… that she didn't really want to talk about it. In the end what was there to say really, about the entire thing? Videl said she needed time to think, and Gohan had told her everything. It was finished… even in her limited experience with relationships she was fairly sure Videl wouldn't be talking to her again anytime soon.

The blue haired woman made a few more attempts to get her to talk about it more. But even for all of Bulma's poking and prodding and overtures of friend ship she just…

If she was honest with herself it was actually really painful to know that her girlfriend had left her and that one of her best friends wouldn't speak to her. But she also knew that wasn't something Bulma could help her with.

"I'm okay, Bulma, really," she told her finally. "I just need time to adjust."

Bulma left her alone after that - but demanded that if Gohan ever wanted to talk she came right to her. Gohan thanked her and said she would. Bulma looked like she didn't believe her, but she didn't push it.

.

Gohan found herself going through the motions. She got up, got dressed, met with the tutor. She was civil to Trunks, who was just as hyperactive as usual but had thankfully stopped asking her questions about sex.

She picked up spending her evenings on the rooftop, staring at the sky, not really thinking of anything at all.

Even the fact that she could feel the baby only made her temporarily happy. That happened about a week and a half later, when Gohan woke up, rolled over and realized she could feel a faint energy signature so close to her it was nearly on top of her. She pressed a hand to her stomach and stared down at it. "Hello there," she said finally, quietly, at the little whoever it was down below. She couldn't sense Goten until her mom was about two months in. It had been what, two weeks?

Then again, she was actually carrying this one, not her mother.

.

Vegeta noticed the next day. He had been giving her looks from a distance, cold assessing gazes that made Gohan feel self conscious, but hadn't come anywhere near her since the incident out in the yard. Now he approached her and gave her stomach a very pointed look. "It will be strong," he said frankly.

"Yeah, well… it has really powerful parents," Gohan said with a small smile that she was sure came across more as a wince. Vegeta looked back up at her and his eyes narrowed.

"It does," he said finally, and he turned and walked away.

.

Vegeta found her the next day, in the evening, up on the roof again. He was dressed in his full Saiyan outfit, which meant he had been training that day, perhaps with her father. Or, he was about to train… even though it was early evening… she puzzled a bit at that, then realized she really didn't care enough to wonder more. Until he spoke.

"Get up," he said abruptly.

There was something in his voice that told Gohan she better do what he said. In retrospect she realized that doing whatever Vegeta said was probably a bad thing. He nodded once she was standing.

"Follow me," he said.

"Where?" she asked a bit cautiously.

"You'll see," he replied cryptically. With that he turned and blasted off in the air.

Gohan stared after him for a long moment, then sighed and took off after him.

It was several minutes later and she was tired of flying over unoccupied countryside and small foothills. If he wanted to talk to her they could do it closer to the house. Hell, if he wanted to try to have sex with her again he could do that INSIDE the house.

"Vegeta, seriously," she said grumpily. "Where are you taking me?"

He stopped abruptly in midair, and Gohan did as well, watching as he surveyed the land below. Gohan suddenly had a bad feeling about this…

Sure enough Vegeta looked up again, satisfied, and burst into Super Saiyan.

He rounded on her. "Fight me," he said.

Gohan's jaw dropped, her arms hanging loosely at her sides. "Are you crazy?" she exclaimed. "I could lose the baby!"

He smirked. "Then we'll just have to make another," he said.

She just stared at him. Then her brow wrinkled. "V-vegeta?" She questioned, a bit incredulously.

His smile dropped, and he glared at her. "That baby will be Saiyan. If it can't take a beating, it doesn't deserve to live."

She felt her blood go cold. She stared at him… stared at this person who until this moment she actually thought was a pretty nice guy, with horrified disbelief. Why was it that Vegeta was able to do that on a semi-regular basis? Every time she thought he was nice he'd do or say some shit to prove her and everyone else otherwise. Like killing about four hundred people just to get her dad to fight him, for example. And that was less than a year ago! Even so, that comment was low, even for him. "I can't _believe _you just said..." she began.

She barely saw him move. The kick caught her on the shoulder and she found herself sailing down towards the Earth.

It was an instantaneous reaction. Either she let herself get smashed to bits on the rocks below, which would cause irrevocable damage to herself and the baby, or she power up and fight Vegeta. It wasn't a hard choice. She let out a scream of rage, her ki skyrocketing and she blasted up and away from the ground. She zoomed back to hover in the air in front of him.

The bastard had a smirk on his face again, his arms folded across his chest as he looked down at her.

Her hands balled into fists. " I'm going to _kill _you!" she said, her voice a low growl, and at that particular moment she absolutely meant it.

He actually laughed out loud at that, his eyes glittering with malice. "_Kill_ me, Gohan?" he replied. "Really. I'd like to see you try." And with that he attacked her again.

She let out another cry of rage and met him halfway.

The blows were hard, unforgiving. She used to be the strongest being on the face of the planet… galaxy… possibly universe, but now she could see that her lack of training really was affecting her ability to fight. She crashed into the ground, hard, twice, tearing up chunks of the valley as she did so. Both times she growled, got to her feet, and threw herself back up at him.

She knew if she could just get ANGRY enough, she could defeat him. But she just… couldn't. She wasn't stupid… none of his hits were coming anywhere near her abdomen, and the delicate energy inside of her still there… if anything it seemed to grow stronger as she fought. She didn't know what the hell Vegeta was playing at but as long as he kept away from hitting her in the stomach, she wasn't going to lose control of her temper and cause serious damage. Which was very good… for both him AND the planet.

So she blocked and defended and did her best to keep him from causing her significant harm.

Finally he hit her hard enough that it took her a lot of effort to even get back to her feet. She stared up at him, panting and aching all over, to find he was laughing as he looked down at her. "Don't you feel it?" he asked with that crazed grin that used to scare the crap out of her when she was younger.

"What, Vegeta?" she replied with irritation. All she felt was tired, hurt and annoyed.

"Alive," he replied.

Her eyes widened. Was that what this was all about? Stupid… he actually thought getting her to fight would raise her spirits? "Vegeta I don't LIKE fight—" she had to stop because at that particular moment he chose to back up and throw a very large energy attack at her. "VEGETA!" she screamed and braced for it.

The energy swept over her, tearing at her clothes, threatening to overwhelm her. She grit her teeth and screamed again, putting her all into it, trying to force it away. Deep gouges formed in the earth under her feet as she was forced back and finally right into the side of a mountain.

And then something hit the energy from the side. As soon as it had come the pressure was off and she flinched as Vegeta's attack exploded high in the atmosphere. Vegeta really hadn't pulled that one at all, had he? She panted as she gazed off after it. She then turned her attention to where the prince was.

Or where he should be.

Vegeta… he wasn't the only other one here any longer. He was fighting someone else off, high above her, and she realized with a sinking feeling who, exactly, it was.

Her dad. Goku had come to her rescue.

That would have been fine, if a bit annoying that he thought she needed rescuing, except that her dad was currently fighting in Super Saiyan three. Gohan's blood ran chill again and for not the first time in the last little while.

There was no way Vegeta could stand up to that for any length of time. The raw power coming off of her dad was phenomenal. And he was PISSED.

.


	9. Home

**Author's Notes**: I wasn't sure about keeping the Vegeta-Bulma discussion scene in this chapter, especially in light of the fact that I've pretty much switched to 3rd person limited Gohan's POV… but ultimately decided to leave it in for those who like Bulma/Vegeta.

.

**Chapter 9  
><strong>Home

.

"Dad!" Gohan cried out. "Dad I'm okay! SHIT," she watched in horror as a hit sent Vegeta slamming back into the earth hard enough to tear up the entire valley. Another hit like that and Goku could do serious damage to him, if he hadn't already.

And then Goku backed up and threw a ki blast at the already fallen prince. The entire valley exploded around her.

"_DAD_!" Gohan launched herself into the air, though the debris. She could feel Vegeta's power falter as she flew towards them. _Shit…_

She reached them just in time to see Vegeta's hair bleed to black again as he lay sprawled on his back in the center of a crater, his face screwed up into a grimace of pain. She threw herself on top of him. She was close enough now to see her dad's eyes were blank with rage and he was powering up for another attack…

"_DAD_!" she screamed again. She didn't even know if she was going to be able to get through to him. She flared her power protectively over both of them, hoping that she had enough energy left to at least save Vegeta…

Her yelling must have worked. "Gohan?" she heard her dad say in a confused voice. Nearly as quickly as it came she felt her father's power bleed away. She heaved a sigh of relief, collapsing on top of Vegeta. She turned her gaze to look up at her dad, only to find he was staring down at the both of them with an expression of utter bewilderment on his face. He was also back down to regular Super Saiyan, thank god.

Vegeta was still conscious, which meant he just as quickly shoved her right back off of him again. She looked at him, watching as he struggled to sit up and glared at her dad. "Your needless interference was not necessary, Kakarrot," he snarled. "Gohan was unharmed."

"She could barely STAND Vegeta," Goku growled, his face clearing. Now he looked angry again. "You nearly killed her."

"You know as well as I do that attack wasn't fatal!" Vegeta snapped back, as if Gohan wasn't sitting right there. "Her gender or condition does not affect her ability to fight!" he looked like he was about to continue more when he paused to cough harshly, and when he pulled his hand away from his mouth Gohan could see blood on his glove. That cough sounded bad, and the blood to go with it meant a lung was probably damaged.

"Vegeta," she began, reaching out, but he jerked away from her.

"I am _fine_," he hissed and Gohan knew it wasn't true. Her dad knew it wasn't either, she could tell as he landed. He had completely dropped Super Saiyan altogether, and looked at Vegeta with a worried expression on his face.

"Come on Vegeta," he said with a small sigh as he crouched down next to him. "I'll take you to Dende."

"You'll do no such thing!" Vegeta spat, and Goku got that frowny pout on his face like he was about to argue. Gohan groaned silently to herself. This was going to turn into an argument…

"Vegeta, you're really hurt," she spoke up before Goku could. She agreed with her dad on this one, and hoped that by taking his side she could talk some sense into Vegeta. His ki was fluctuating, and she had no doubt he was seriously injured. Coughing up blood didn't do much to convince her otherwise.

He growled at her, literally. He looked from her to her father and back again, then relaxed suddenly. "I do not require Dende," he said, abruptly and with a strong note of finality in his voice. "Take me home Kakarrot, then do me a favor and get the hell out of my life."

"You don't mean that, Vegeta," Goku said gently, reaching out and taking hold of Vegeta's arm. Vegeta let him pull him to his feet.

"Hn," was the only reply that Goku got and Vegeta let him put his arm around his shoulder to support him. Gohan stared in amazement. Weren't they just fighting? And now Vegeta was letting him hold him upright like nothing had even happened. She shook her head.

Goku turned his head and glanced at her over his shoulder. "Put your hand on my back, Gohan," he said. "I'll teleport you both to Bulma's."

"She's going to freak out," Gohan muttered. She reached out and placed her hand on her dad's back. A second later they had winked away.

.

Bulma did flip. After yelling at Vegeta for getting himself injured, she had Goku help carry him off into a different part of the house. They left Gohan alone… which was fine with her. Bulma looked pissed, and Vegeta didn't look too happy, she had never really been around for any of their marital spats, but she imagined they weren't pleasant and she really preferred to avoid them if at all possible.

She wandered off to her room instead. After washing the worse of the dirt off of her face and hands in her bathroom she went to her bed and broke open a textbook, intent to do some reading for school.

That was next to impossible to do. She couldn't concentrate and she was worried… not about Vegeta, she could feel his energy was strong and level again, but about the entire situation. She hadn't seen her dad that angry in a long time. Thankfully he had calmed down right away, but if he had kept going? What if Vegeta had knocked her out so she couldn't have helped him? Would her dad have been able to stop himself from killing Vegeta?

Probably… but the prince would have been in really rough shape… even if Vegeta was one of the most… _durable_ people she knew. Gohan shook her head. This entire thing was messed up. She had been knocked around in fights in the past, beaten severely, and her dad had never done anything like that before. So was it the fact that she was a girl or the fact that she was pregnant that made her dad go off the deep end?

She didn't really like either explanation. What the hell…

Vegeta was an ass for making her fight him without asking if she wanted to in the first place, but at least he wasn't coddling her like she was some weak, untrained human. And now… she wouldn't be surprised if she would have to go back home. She sighed and shut her textbook with a snap and lay back on her bed. HER bed… it was funny how she had been here two weeks but thought of this place as home already. Well, nothing much she could do about it… she still had a family, and she missed them. She just didn't know if she wanted to be around them permanently right now… especially her mom.

She couldn't help but to think that if she been at home in the first place Vegeta wouldn't be off getting medical treatment from getting his ass kicked by her dad…

She groaned, rolled over and stuffed her face in her pillow.

Sure enough her dad showed up at her bedroom door a couple minutes later… while she still had her face in her pillow. "Gohan?" he began.

Here it came. Gohan sat up, brushed herself off… realized she was still wearing her tattered clothes from the fight, and a tear in them showed off her cleavage quite well. She tugged a scrap of her shirt up higher and shifted about self consciously. "You're going to take me home now, right?" she asked, after clearing her throat.

Her dad looked very serious, which was never a good sign. At least he hadn't seemed to notice her shirt. "Do you want to go home?" he asked.

Gohan frowned as she considered. "I'm not sure," she said finally. "I like it here… Bulma's a good friend and I have school to think about. I miss Goten and mom sometimes though. Maybe I could home for a visit?" she asked hopefully.

Goku nodded. He then walked into the room and came over to her. He sat down at the edge of her bed, elbows on his knees and hands clasped between them. Gohan waited for it… she didn't have to wait long. "I'm sorry," he said after a moment, and his apology sounded sincere. "For cutting into your fight like that. I shouldn't have done that."

Gohan sat up straighter, her eyes narrowing. "What actually happened there, Dad? You looked like you were two seconds away from killing him."

"I know," Goku looked pale, shaken, and Gohan realized for the first time how close Vegeta had come to actually dying. And somehow she doubted they'd have been able to wish him back for a third time…

"Dad," she said gently. "He's one of your best friends," and it was true, her dad could deny it all he wanted… and so could Vegeta for that matter, but they understood each other more than anyone else in the universe. And she knew for a fact that her dad would be devastated if Vegeta died, and even more so if he had been the one to kill him. After all he had done to help…

Goku laughed at that, a bit of a sad broken sound and it worried Gohan. "He… he is, I guess. You can't really tell with Vegeta," Goku's lips quirked up into a half smile as he inspected his hands. "I don't know what happened," he said finally. He was silent for a moment and Gohan wondered if he would continue when he did. "I… when we were fighting Buu, when we fused… everything got mixed up. I… I saw some things, inside of him. I knew they were there - we all knew what he was like - but it…" he gazed at the wall, a faraway look on his face. "His _memories_… they were…" he shuddered.

Gohan studied him. She didn't know that the fusion had caused their memories to overlap, but it was a possible explanation as to why her dad was off kilter enough to almost kill him in a fit of rage.

"He changed after he came to Earth," she pointed out. Her dad already knew this…

"I know," Goku replied quietly. "I know he's different now, and after the Buu fight I forgot all about it. But when this thing happened to you…" he trailed off. "When I about you with him something in me goes a little crazy," he confessed.

Gohan processed that. "Because I'm your… I'm related to you," she replied. She wasn't about to say daughter, she had been his son for far longer than the last two weeks. "And he used to be evil, so that makes you overprotective," she added.

Goku looked up at her, and there was a slightly lost look on his face. "I think so," he said, but the look on his face told her he wasn't really sure.

She sighed and rubbed her face with her hand. Why was it that everything in her life had to be so complicated? "He didn't hurt me," she said finally. "Dad, I nearly died. By the time he got there I couldn't even move. He could have done anything he wanted to, including whatever it is that you remember him doing, and he _didn't_."

"I know," her dad replied.

"You saw how he acted when this all started. He was trying to protect me as best as he could," Gohan felt her cheeks burn but pressed on. "He even kept you away from me," she added. It was a really embarrassing - not to mention creepy - memory, and a low blow, but it did the trick. Goku paled considerably and stared at his hands.

"I know," he repeated softly, and she could hear the guilt in his voice.

She continued. "And today he was trying to get me to feel better… I get that. He loves fighting, and you love to fight just as much as he does. That was all he was trying to do," she leaned towards him earnestly. "Dad, I think that fusion might have messed up your head or something..."

Goku's eyes had widened and she could see him thinking about what she had said. Then he laughed and scratched the back of his head, which made Gohan raise her eyebrow. So… the fusion _had _done something to mess up her dad, and he knew it too.

Great.

She put a hand on his shoulder briefly. "Maybe you should talk to him about it," she suggested, but even as she said it she knew it was probably a lost cause. She didn't think Vegeta'd talk to her dad willingly about anything, especially not if it involved detailed discussions about his past.

Goku shook his head quickly, then paused. "I brought it up once," he said finally. "Right after this thing happened with you. He got really, really angry."

Gohan frowned, then sighed. Yeah, that sounded like Vegeta. She didn't know what to say, really, or where to even start. Before today she hadn't even known there were any problems between the two of them… for her dad to be talking to her about this, and being so serious about it, meant it was bad. Her dad was in pain and Vegeta was oblivious… or maybe not so oblivious any longer.

And it looked like she may have been the trigger of everything. "I can talk to him if you want," she said finally. "I think I might be able to convince him to talk to you about it. Especially if it might save his life one day," she added wryly.

She noticed that her dad's hands were clasped together so hard that his knuckles were white. She sucked in a breath through her teeth. "Dad," she said pleadingly. "If it's really bothering you that much you _need _to talk to him. Before you lose it and try to kill him again. I don't want to lose him either."

Goku winced then frowned and seemed to decide something. He looked up at her and smiled, and it was like all the tension left him. "It's okay, Gohan," he said cheerily. "Really. I appreciate it though!"

"Dad…"

He laughed, cutting her off, and clapped her on the shoulder. "I'm fine!" he declared. He got to his feet suddenly, happy and bouncing like the conversation had never happened. "So… come on, are we going home for dinner? I'm STARVING."

Gohan sighed.

.

On the other side of the building, Bulma had forced her husband onto a bed in a room lined with cupboards and shelves. It was the room they used as a impromptu hospital, well stocked for whenever one of the two Saiyans she shared her life with injured themselves enough to need medical treatment.

"Off," she commanded, making a hand motion to his top.

Vegeta grumbled and stripped off what remained of his armor and shirt. She could hear his hiss of breath as he removed them and that told her more than anything how injured he was.

She frowned. An ugly purple patch that extended from under his left arm to his sternum. Broken ribs, it looked like.

Vegeta didn't seem to terribly concerned. Of course he didn't. She sighed, then turned back around to the cupboards… pulling down several plastic containers and medical supplies.

"What were you _thinking?_" Bulma said as she approached Vegeta again with a large armful of gauze and some smaller medical instruments. She set everything down on the bed beside Vegeta and started to prep a needle. "Well?"

Vegeta huffed, looking irritated. "Gohan is a Saiyan," he said. "She is a fighter. She is unharmed, as is the child inside of her, if that is your concern."

Bulma actually growled as she took his arm and jabbed the needle into it none too kindly. Vegeta didn't even blink. "How do you know that?" Bulma retorted. "You're not a doctor."

"I can sense energy," Vegeta pointed out.

Bulma glared. She took one of the instruments from the bed - one that looked like a small handheld computer - and held it to Vegeta's injured side. It beeped and Bulma read the screen. "Three broken ribs, a lacerated liver, and a punctured lower left lung," she read and tossed the instrument back on the bed. "You didn't answer my question," she grouched at him, her hands on her hips. Vegeta glared at her.

"Did you even ASK Gohan if she wanted to fight with you?" Vegeta didn't say anything, which told her plenty. "So you picked a fight with a PREGNANT girl who didn't even WANT to fight with you?"

"And I suppose leaving her to wallow in self pity was a better idea," Vegeta snapped back at her.

That stopped Bulma short. She knew as well as Vegeta that Gohan was depressed, even if she didn't know it herself. They had discussed this the other night, of the ways cheer her up… or rather Bulma discussed and Vegeta just laid there and made occasional noises of agreement. Bulma had finally decided, reluctantly, that there was nothing they could do, and that she'd come around eventually. Vegeta had obviously felt differently.

She studied Vegeta for a moment, then reached out, taking his arm and moving it up a bit. She started to bind up his ribs. "I wish you had told me," she said.

"I doubt you would have approved," Vegeta replied dryly.

"Well yeah," Bulma shook her head, then gave him a look that was more sad than angry. "You could have been killed," she said. "I know you were trying to help, but with Goku around that was dangerous. How else do you think he'd react to you beating on his pregnant daughter?"

"He WOULDN'T have killed me," Vegeta retorted. "And his daughter is _still_ a Saiyan warrior who can certainly hold her own in a fight."

"Vegeta." There was a warning note in her voice.

"… I didn't think Kakarrot would intervene," Vegeta said after a moment. There was something in his expression now that made Bulma pause, and she watched as Vegeta's brows furrowed in thought. Did he honestly think Kakarrot wouldn't have gotten involved?

"He was raised here," Bulma said, gently now. "Beating up pregnant women is kind of a big deal on Earth. And you know how sensitive Goku is."

Vegeta sighed. "I'm aware," he replied abruptly. "I misjudged."

Bulma sighed but didn't say any more. She continued to bind up Vegeta's chest quietly. He picked up a hand and carded it through the blue locks of her hair as she worked. She got emotional about things like this. She had cried when he came back to life again after Buu, all out sobbed on him, which had been a shock. Then again he had died, so she had a legitimate reason to be upset, and understandably found the thought of him dying again distressing. "I'm sorry for worrying you," he said finally, gruffly.

She gave him a small smile and finished binding his chest. She pressed another needle into his arm… this one had tranquilizers in it to go with the painkillers. She then leaned down and pressed a quick kiss to his lips, which became deeper as she lingered. "Get some rest," she said finally as she pulled away. "You'll need to stay put for a few days to heal."

Vegeta snorted. "I'll be up again tomorrow," he replied.

"Vegeta you punctured a _lung_. You'd better stay right there or I swear to god…"

"It's already sealed off," Vegeta groused back and Bulma deliberately ignored him. Instead she finished putting the supplies away and left the room.

.

Gohan did go home… after she cleaned up and put new clothes on that weren't ripped in embarrassing places. It was nice to see Goten at very least, and her mom too, even though her mom interrogated her. After she was done reassuring her mom that she was eating properly, doing all of her homework, getting good grades in school, and so on they had dinner.

Which was uncomfortable. Her dad was mostly silent, her mom started asking her about her future plans with the baby, which she had no idea what she was going to do. She gave her mom an alarmed look when she started to say that they could help raise it, and told her as gently as she could that the baby was half Vegeta's… he'd probably get a say in what happened to the baby. THAT got a small tirade on what a terrible man Vegeta was, which she didn't even bother defending. She just hoped that her dad wouldn't say anything about the fight that afternoon as she was sure that would only add fuel to the fire. He didn't, thankfully.

Then their dinner devolved into silence. Even Goten was quiet, her dad looked uncomfortable and her mom just looked sad. She felt sympathy for her mother then… this wasn't easy on her. She had lost both her sons completely and unexpectedly in the space of a day and had them replaced by two people who looked and acted like her sons but weren't quite the same. And her pregnancy just made things worse.

She was sure to give her mom a long hug before she left, and promised that she'd come visit more. Her mom had tears in her eyes when she pulled away and Gohan felt bad.

She gave her dad a hug too, which he stiffened at and awkwardly returned. Her dad was never good at the hugging thing. "Thanks for looking out for me today," she said sincerely. Whatever his motives, it meant a lot to her that he cared.

He smiled, genuinely, and gave her a pat on the back. "If you need anything…" he began.

She nodded. "I'll let you know," she said. She then gave her family a last was and took off back towards Capsule Corp.

.

The flight back gave her a lot of time to think and mull everything over. Was she sure she was making the right decision? Was living with Bulma and Vegeta really the right choice for her? She wasn't sure if it was the right choice, but it felt… comfortable. She wasn't sure why the thought of being around a lose canon like Vegeta who either wanted to have sex with her or beat the crap out of her made her feel COMFORTABLE… but somehow it did. Right now he seemed more stable than her father… and if anything her talk with her dad reinforced to her that, at the end of the day, Vegeta wasn't going to do anything hurt her.

And she really could talk to Bulma about anything, she knew that as well.

It occurred to her that all the adults in her life - including Piccolo - were trying to take care of her as best as they knew how. It wasn't their faults that things kept on going badly.

.

Bulma at least looked happy to see her again when she got back, giving Gohan a big smile and a long hug and apologized for her husband being a dick.

Gohan decided that she adored Bulma. She grinned and told her she was happy to be back and she was very used to Vegeta being Vegeta.

She didn't go see Vegeta that night, there was no point, his ki was so level that she knew he was asleep. Instead she went to bed and classes the next day. It was evening when she went to visit him.

She didn't know if he had been awake during the day but he was still out cold when she came into the room. Out cold and snoring softly. He looked small and pale under the white sheets, almost vulnerable, though she knew just as much as anyone that he was anything but when he was awake.

She smiled to herself and settled into the chair beside the bed with one of her textbooks.

He woke up about a half hour later. She glanced up from her textbook to find he was giving her a wary look, his eyes open but half lidded. "How long have you been there?" he grunted at her.

She shut her book. "Nice to see you too," she said mildly. "How are you feeling?"

"Like shit," he replied abruptly. He narrowed his eyes. "Why are you here?" he said.

"I just thought…" she realized she had no particular excuse as to why she was hanging out by Vegeta's bed side. She went to get up. "I'll go…"

"No," Vegeta replied, stopping her in her tracks. "I meant here. At Capsule Corp. I thought Kakarrot took you home," he paused and made a face. "How long was I out?"

"Just a day," Gohan replied, sitting back down again carefully. "And I… I kind of like it here," she said with a small shrug.

He inspected her silently for a long moment then, very unexpectedly, he smiled. He shut his eyes. Within a minute his breathing had leveled out and he was asleep again.

She studied him for a long moment, watching him as he slept, then smiled to herself and reopened her textbook, settling back in the chair.

.


	10. The More Things Change

**Author's Note**: I mentioned there would be Vegeta/Gohan in this fanfic, didn't I? This chapter has that. Lots of that. I'd suggest skipping everything but the very end if you don't like it.

Don't worry, Piccolo/Gohan is still a thing, even though you've all had to wade through several chapters worth of Gohan figuring out his/her life to get to that thing. ^^

Enjoy!

.

**Chapter 10**

The more things change…

.

Gohan was in for a shock when she went back to visit Vegeta the next day after classes. Vegeta sat, somewhat propped up in the bed on a bunch of pillows- reading a book.

Gohan's jaw dropped, utter amazement on her face. "I didn't know you could read," she exclaimed as she walked towards him. As soon as she said it she flinched. "That... came out wrong," she apologized.

Vegeta lowered the book and raised an eyebrow at her briefly before returning to reading. "I have been stuck on this backwater planet for ten years now. Of course I know how to read."

Gohan approached and carefully settled down on the chair beside the bed. "I don't think my dad can read and he's been here all his life," she said.

Vegeta didn't even look up at that. He flipped a page and kept on reading. "Kakarrot can do anything he puts his mind to," he replied after a moment. "If he can't read it is because he chooses not to."

"Fair enough," Gohan replied. She was going to argue that he dad was as flighty as hell when it came to anything that wasn't sleeping, eating or training, but she had seen him concentrate when it was really important on other things. She also realized that meant her father was illiterate by choice. She actually felt a bit ashamed at that.

She distracted to the book Vegeta was reading. "A Practical Guide to Macroeconomics and Financial Market Systems?" she said, reading the title.

Vegeta still didn't look up. "I have a vested interest in the wealth and prosperity of this company," he said blandly. He sounded like he was reciting from a textbook and Gohan realized he was probably actually repeating something Bulma had lectured him on. "And I am not allowed to use physical intimidation to protect those interests."

Yup, definitely Bulma. Gohan bit back both a smirk and a comment on how domesticated Vegeta had become. Instead she settled back in her chair and broke open her science textbook.

About a half hour later Vegeta groaned and tossed the book to the side, and rubbed his temples. "Why must humans needlessly complicate every single thing they do?" he grumbled, more to himself than to Gohan.

Gohan grinned, lowering her textbook as well. "Good book?" Vegeta gave her a sour look and Gohan sobered up. "How are you?" she asked politely.

Vegeta placed his arm loosely along his left side. "I'm fine," he said abruptly. "I'd get up and go back to training but it's not worth the headache the woman will give me if I do," he said. He glanced at Gohan. "Why are you here anyway? I'm sure you can read that perfectly fine elsewhere."

Gohan blinked, and felt hurt. "Do you want me to go?" she asked timidly.

Vegeta cocked his head to the side. His dark eyes searched hers for a moment. "No," he said finally.

"Alright," Gohan was quiet for a moment, and Vegeta went back to lying down. She wondered if he was going to go to sleep but his eyes studied the ceiling instead. When enough silence had stretched between them Gohan hesitated then spoke up. "Vegeta?" she began.

He looked at her questioningly.

Gohan flushed slightly, but continued. It was something that she had wondered about during the last couple weeks… ever since he cornered her in the yard that first week. "Don't you… don't you find this weird?" Vegeta frowned and Gohan put down her textbook completely. "Isn't it weird to you that I'm _Gohan_?"

Vegeta stared at her with utter incomprehension. "Why would I find it weird that you're Gohan?" he said after a moment.

Oh great, how to explain this. Gohan hesitated again. "Well… you've known me... most of my life. As a guy," she paused and frowned. "Would you still hit on me if I was a guy?"

Understanding flooded Vegeta's face as he got it. He actually smirked at her. "I wasn't raised here, I don't particularly care about gender when it comes to partners."

That gave her pause. "Well. That's rather progressive of you," she said finally, and felt herself blush.

Vegeta snorted. "Hardly," he said. "I grew up among soldiers. There wasn't really a lot of choice, most of the time."

Gohan was quiet for a moment as she processed that. … really? So Vegeta had… huh. That took a bit of getting her mind around, the sudden mental images of Vegeta doing ANYTHING with any of Frieza's men… she shook her head. "... but you have a choice here."

The older Saiyan gave her a long look before giving a slight nod of assent. "Yes."

"So... you'd still hit on me as a guy... even though you've known me since I was four," and there, she said it and laid it right out in the open.

If she wasn't mistaken Vegeta actually flinched slightly at that. "You are not four now," he said finally, pointedly. "If you were interested, I might have," he looked at her again and there was curiosity on his face. "Does that bother you?"

There was no point in lying about it. "... a little, yeah," she replied. Her brow furrowed. "... is it because I'm Saiyan?"

Vegeta hesitated. "Partly," he said. He glared at her suddenly. "If it makes you feel better I never thought about it until that blasted wish occurred. I was _not _looking and you are still quite young."

"I'm seventeen," Gohan replied, half in protest.

The older Saiyan's eyes narrowed. "Age does not have much to do with experience, and you are very young when it comes to experience."

Gohan huffed. She looked away, then looked back again, a very dangerous and disturbing thought creeping into her head. She knew it might be bad to bring it up right now, especially with the recent conflict between the two, but morbid curiosity bit at her. "What about my dad?" she asked.

Vegeta stared at her.

"He's Saiyan," Gohan pointed out.

Vegeta's brow furrowed. "I'm well _aware_ that Kakarrot is Saiyan, I can't believe you would even suggest…"

"What if he got turned into a girl?" Gohan cut him off halfway through his rant.

Vegeta got a very particular look on his face at that… it seemed to be half interested, half repulsed. "... I… might… consider," he said finally, and it sounded like every word was being dragged from him by force. "MIGHT."

Gohan burst into laughter. She couldn't help it, the look on Vegeta's face was amazing. She almost wished she had a camera…

Vegeta twitched. "If you tell him that I'll kill you," Vegeta said abruptly as she continued to laugh.

She stifled her laughter with her hand. "So you prefer women, then," she said after a moment. If Vegeta would actually consider sex with her dad if her dad was a girl…

Vegeta gave her a look. "Obviously," he said, very dryly.

Gohan inspected him quietly for a moment, her smile fading. Hesitantly she reached out, and, when Vegeta didn't do anything but look at her a bit warily, she touched his cheek. He still didn't move so she ran her fingers up the side of his face, the skin warm, almost hot under her finger tips, along his widows peak… down to spot between his constantly furrowed brow. He brought his hand up, not quickly and not enough to startle her and caught her hand in his own. He examined it for a moment, then looked up at her.

"I think the more interesting question," he said, his voice soft, "Is why you are doing this. I obviously haven't changed."

Gohan felt her cheeks flame. "Well... ahhhh... I mean... well... you are good at kissing. I didn't know that... um, you know. Before," she babbled almost incoherently. She tried to reclaim her hand half heartedly, but he wouldn't let it go. Instead he traced the center of her palm with his thumb.

"You're at the age where any touch is exciting," he said finally, matter–of-factly. And with that he brought her hand to his mouth and pressed her thumb to his lips. For a moment he held it there, then opened his mouth and bit gently at the pad. He let it go to lick at it soothingly.

Gohan had completely forgotten how to think and pretty much how to breathe. "Uh…" she managed to get out.

Now his smirk turned evil. He tugged on her hand, and she came easily, rising off of her chair and leaning over the bed. Her heart sped up as he reached up, laced a hand behind her head and pulled her close.

His lips met her own and she let out a little groan and opened her mouth. He took full advantage and deepened the kiss. Now all she was aware of was warm and wet, and the tingling sensation was back between her legs. She bought her hands up to support herself on his shoulders… the angle was weird, but all she wanted to do was get closer to…

He broke away, panting slightly, then tugged on her arm. "Get up on the bed," he said… ordered, and she blinked at him, her eyes wide.

"Your ribs," she began and he snorted, then powered up a tiny bit. She got it, protective shield of ki. She wasn't going to be able to do any damage to him at all unless she powered up herself.

She gulped and climbed onto the bed, settling awkwardly down beside him. He didn't have a lot of patience, moving to the side, then jerking her towards him. She gasped as his mouth met hers again, this time much more aggressive, tongue sliding against hers. She groaned and he moved her again, this time more on her back as he braced himself on his side, leaving his hand to wander freely.

This time she let him. Let him touch her, run a hand under her shirt, nip at her jaw, neck, claim her mouth again roughly. She groaned and rubbed against him and felt him tug on her shirt.

…somehow she had a feeling that if Vegeta wasn't allowed to get out of bed to go train, Bulma wouldn't be too keen on what he seemed intent on doing now, she thought, as he finished removing her shirt and bra. At least she couldn't yell at him for getting out of bed…

He then went for her pants, and she let out a stifled groan as he pulled those down as well.

You do realize where this is going, her own voice at the back of her mind thought as he finished taking them off and stopped to eye her appreciatively. She was going to have sex with Vegeta. Willingly. Really, really soon. That made her shudder almost involuntarily and she didn't know if it was with repulsion or anticipation.

Whatever it was, the shudder made him stop cold. He brought his head up to see her face, dark eyes searching hers. "We can stop," he rasped, and she could tell how affected he was by his voice.

She stared at him, her eyes wide. When she didn't reply right away he brought his hand up again, grasping the side of her face. "Gohan."

It was her name that did it, he knew who she was, she wasn't just… wanted for her body and the fact that apparently his wife was okay with this. He was willing to stop, which meant that he cared about how she felt… cared about her as a person. She blinked at him, then smiled, reaching up and wrapping her arms around him, kissing him gently on the lips. "Keep going," she said as she pulled away.

He looked absolutely stunned. That didn't last long. His lips twitched and he gave her that all knowing, dark, slightly sadistic smirk of his, and kissed her again. He pulled away only long enough to strip off his own shirt, and it was then that she could see the deplorable deep purple bruising that covered his entire left side. She let out a hiss, momentarily distracted and reached out, her hand just hovering above it. It was throwing off heat. Definitely healing but, if those ribs had been broken just two days ago…

She looked at him with concern, only to get a soft snort in reply. He slapped her hands away gently then reached down to tug off his own pants.

… well that definitely distracted her from his injury.

She flushed, deeply, but didn't look away as he freed himself. It… wasn't so bad, she realized, to see him like this. She wondered at that for a moment… that seeing Vegeta buck naked and fully erect didn't send her screaming. And how amazing it was that this was okay now, when two weeks ago it definitely had not been…

Then again, she could move, she was fully aware of her surroundings, this wasn't anything like that first time. She had made it through THAT intact; this would be a piece of cake.

She drew a deep breath, trying to force back slight nervousness. He looked up again reaching up to run his hand down the side of her face, pausing to rub her cheek with his thumb. He leaned in again and the kiss he gave her was tender, sweet and slow as he settled against her. She could feel him then, against her upper thigh, but the kiss was distracting her, as was his hand, which seemed content to just stroke her side and the outside of her hip, again, soothingly and unhurried.

Who would have ever thought Vegeta would be one for gentle caresses? Then again, she supposed with the condition he was in, he wasn't really up for rougher handling. Or he was being mindful of the fact that she wasn't, as he said, very experienced.

When he finally trailed a hand between her legs she was more than ready for it.

She whimpered, softly, then bought her hand up, covering her mouth with her hand. He merely watched her as he slid those fingers out and then IN and RUBBED and her whimpers turned into something sharper, more needy. Finally she jerked her hand away from her mouth and reached for him blindly, yanking him down into a desperate kiss. "In," she panted against his mouth. "I want you in…" his erection jerked against her thigh. He wasted no time. He moved and suddenly he was between her legs, lifting her up, and then there was a push…

She gasped, her head thrown back, hands scrabbling at the bed sheets as he settled into her, those warm hands on her torso, holding her against him. He stopped. She wriggled… then kicked, her heel striking the back of his upper thigh. "MOVE," she commanded and he chuckled, deep warm and rich.

And then he did as she asked. She gasped as he began thrust, reaching up again, this time wrapping her arms around his shoulders to hang on. She muttered incoherently against his shoulder as he sped up and now the entire bed was shaking with their movements. He shifted again, bringing her legs up higher, adjusted and pushed in harder and she yelped, then let out another groan. "more!" she managed to get out, and he laughed at her again.

"So responsive," he breathed into her ear and she shuddered. With that he lifted her up again and set up a brutal pace. All she could really do was hold on, her cries increasing in volume and frequency until…

Her entire body seized up and she let out a long low cry. He didn't let up and she road it out, caught in the incredible wave of sensation. It was only as she began to come back down again, that she realized there was a feeling of utter shock coming from inside her head.

She froze, this time for a completely different reason. That shock wasn't coming from her…

It was Piccolo. She could feel his chagrin and embarrassment at being unable to block her and the fact that he had desperately tried to, but she had overwhelmed his senses.

"Oh, god, Piccolo," she breathed. He had _felt_ that just as much as she had.

She opened her eyes even as Vegeta slowed to a stop. "… the Namekian?" Vegeta panted, sounding confused and a little bit affronted.

She looked up at him, flushed now for a totally different reason and horribly embarrassed. "He, uh… he felt that," she mumbled.

Vegeta just stared at her.

She felt guilty - enough that it took away some of the embarrassment. Talking about another while in bed was rude wasn't it? And Vegeta was still inside of her. She could sense the mental shields were up again… Piccolo hadn't wasted any time in doing that. She'd have to deal with his mental trauma later, if he'd even talk to her.

She shook her head quickly and reached up, looping her arms around Vegeta's neck again. "In my head," she said in way of explanation. "I'll explain more later," she added. "Continue?" she asked, a bit hopefully.

He gave her a deeply suspicious look and she leaned up, kissing him, trying to distract him. He didn't react for a moment and she worried that she had completely ruined everything. Then Vegeta moved, kissing her back briefly before reaching up and grasping her hair, yanking her head back. She fell back against the pillows with a soft cry of protest, which turned into a happier sound as he repositioned himself and started again.

.

Sweat cooled on her skin as her breathing slowed. She nuzzled closer to the other, pressing up against his uninjured side. She felt good, tired, with a weariness that usually came with sparing for hours. Except better.

With the sound of blood rushing in her ears fading she could slowly hear other things, like the ticking of the old clock on the wall... his breathing, which he was struggling to get under control as well. There was an odd hitching sound to it. She thought nothing of it, her brain pretty much reduced to goo, when it filtered in that that was probably not a very good thing. He was injured and she was sure having sex didn't help that any. Did he repuncture his lung? Oh God, what if he was bleeding internally? "Vegeta…" she began, raising her head.

He brought his hand up to her face and pushed her head back down into the mattress without saying a word.

Okay, she got it. She paused, then relaxed and went back to snuggling. He didn't move away so she figured that cuddling was fine, if sitting up and talking was not. Either that or he was humoring her because he had just had sex with her. She flushed and smiled to herself.

Minutes passed. His breathing went back to normal and the hitching faded. He sat up and she blinked questioningly at his backside as he reached down along the side of the mattress. After a moment he laid back down again, bringing a white sheet with him. That he put over top of both of them, pressing it in around her shoulders.

"You're being nice," she commented.

He grunted in reply. "Go to sleep," was all he said.

She was going to protest that falling asleep in his hospital bed probably wasn't a very good idea… his wife and kid were around somewhere but on the other hand, that was a nice idea.

"… You can't tell my dad…" she mumbled as she felt sleep start to overwhelm her.

.

When she woke up again she had no idea where she was. Gohan sat up with a start, and stared around the unfamiliar room with wide eyes. Then it hit her like a ton of bricks.

Oh. Oh…

She turned her head to the side and blinked. Sure enough Vegeta was out cold beside her, snoring softly. She blinked again, and wondered at that.

She honestly never expected that to even be possible. Vegeta trusted her enough to let her sleep next to him? While he was injured? Or perhaps the fact that he was injured made him more complacent…

She smiled, genuinely, and shifted, sliding her legs over the side of the bed.

Oh, ow… sore… it wasn't that bad though. She grinned and went for her clothes, pulling them back on as quietly as she could, not wanting to wake him. She then paused and considered. It seemed rude to just leave without saying goodbye. She bit her lip nervously, then walked back to the bed and shook Vegeta's shoulder gently.

"Vegeta…" he woke up at the second shake and blinked up at her blurrily.

"What do you want, brat?" he mumbled at her, his brow furrowing even deeper than usual.

"… I'm going back to my room," Gohan said cautiously.

Vegeta shut his eyes again. "Why the hell do I care?" he said, moving his face to the side.

Gohan stood there for a moment. Then. "… Right," she said. This was Vegeta. Being an ass was his default setting. Even so, it did hurt a bit...

She turned to move away from the bed when a hand caught her wrist. She turned back, surprised.

Vegeta had a slight smile on his face, his eyes open again, if half lidded. He tugged her wrist and she came reluctantly and even more reluctantly let him lean up and kiss her. Predictably, she softened into the kiss. It really wasn't fair he was so freakin' good at that…

He knew it too, he had a smirk on his face when he pulled away. She panted a bit, then got a hold of herself. "You're a jerk," she muttered, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.

He flashed a grin. "So I've been told," he let her wrist go.

She sighed. "Good night, Vegeta," she said. She turned to leave, then paused and turned back again. "And you _really_ can't tell my dad about this."

He had his eyes closed. "Why not? That might be fun," he said with a yawn.

"Vegeta…"

He opened one of his eyes again. He looked irritated for a moment, which faded when he saw the worry on her face. He sighed. "I'm not stupid. I'm not about to tell your idiot father anything," he said. "Happy?"

She smiled. "Yes. Thank you, Vegeta," she said.

He grumbled something intelligible in reply, his eyes already closed again.

.

She tried to talk to Piccolo that night, even to just apologize for the mental trauma, but there was no response from the link. She stared at the wall, a small sad frown on her face. It was several hours before she was able to fall asleep.

.

She ran into Bulma in the hall the next day on the way to the room they were using as a classroom. Awkward didn't even begin to describe it. She stumbled and nearly dropped her textbooks. "Uh, hi, hey Bulma," she stuttered.

Bulma gave her an enigmatic smile, walked up to her, cupped the side of her face and kissed her on the cheek.

Gohan had to stop herself from jerking away. She turned her head and stared. Bulma just gave her a suggestive wink and walked away.

Gohan watched her go with her jaw slightly open. Finally she gave her head a little shake and continued on to class. She'd never get that woman.

She was beginning to get used to her however.

.

She ran into Vegeta in the kitchen the next evening. He was already at the table, decimating several plates of food and couple bowls of rice. He barely looked up to acknowledge her.

She was surprised that she didn't feel embarrassed or awkward at all. It wasn't like he hadn't seen her completely naked… several times now, and it was also highly unlikely he was going to try to do anything to her while focusing on eating. She went for the fridge. "How are your ribs?" she asked as she came back out of the fridge with the makings of a couple sandwiches.

"They're fine," Vegeta grunted.

She soon joined him at the table with sandwiches in a stack. They ate in silence for a while, until Vegeta ran out of steam and settled back in his chair. His eyes narrowed and Gohan paused, slowing her own eating. She finished her sandwich, then sat back. "What?" she asked warily.

Vegeta studied her. "The Namekian," he said finally. "'He felt that'. What did you mean by that?"

Gohan stared at him in mute embarrassment. "… uh…" she said finally.

Vegeta looked annoyed. "Out with it," he said. "He's mentally connected to you, is that it?" he rolled his eyes suddenly. "More than usual at least."

She didn't know how Vegeta knew that but she supposed she had told him enough to figure it out. She sighed. "I… yes," she replied. "It's not like it was before," she studied her hands briefly then looked up again. "Back at the Lookout… after everything happened… he was trying to make me feel better. He tried to tell me up here," she tapped the side of her head. "But it… it went badly. Well, badly - depending on your point of view…" she trailed off and glanced out the window. "He was only trying to help."

Vegeta studied her silently for a moment. "He's been connected to you the entire time?" he asked.

She hesitated. "Sort of," she replied. "He's there in my head, I can feel _him_ there, but I don't know what he's thinking or feeling. He's been keeping me blocked out since he sent me away. Sometimes his block fails when he feels strongly about something… or I feel strongly about something, like last night when… you know… we, uh…"

"I get it," Vegeta saved her after she had floundered for a bit.

"He put the block back up right away," Gohan said helpfully. "I didn't feel him again the rest of the time."

Vegeta nodded, and a thinking frown came over his face. "He's been keeping you out of his head," he said slowly. "What if you wanted to talk to him?" he asked.

Gohan shrugged, then dropped her gaze to her hands. "I've tried," she replied quietly. "He won't talk back. He's pretty stubborn."

Vegeta's frown grew. "He knows how you feel about him," the older Saiyan began, and if anything there was a dangerous note in his voice.

Gohan looked up and gave him a puzzled look. "Yes," she replied. "But it's for my own good. He doesn't want his thoughts and feelings to influence me in any way. And it's not like I can just… _talk_ to him in my head… you know, have a normal conversation… I feel everything he feels if he opens the link up."

Vegeta gave her a narrow eyed glare… and it felt like he was looking right through her. "Have your feelings for him changed any since he's put this…" he waved his hand. "Block up?"

"… No," Gohan replied, and realization dawned. "No, they haven't. He… he's right though," she said. "I know how I feel _now_, but… when I'm back to myself, and things go back to normal… I have no idea-"

"So your feelings change," Vegeta cut in sharply. "So what?"

She stared at him.

Vegeta pushed away from the table. "Tell him to stop ignoring you," he said abruptly. "Or I'll do it for you, and trust me, it won't be pleasant for him if I do."

Gohan flinched. "Vegeta, don't…" she began.

He glared at her. "Don't _what_?" he snapped back. "Don't tell you to stand up for yourself? Don't tell the Namekian that he's doing you more harm than good? If he had half a brain he'd see that you need him right now, not… whatever it is he thinks he's doing! Ch," and he looked really angry now. "You both make me sick!" he snarled, and with that he turned and stomped from the room.

Gohan just sat there, her mouth hanging open. She hadn't seen Vegeta THAT angry in quite while. She even felt vague surprise from the mind link.

/Piccolo?/ she sent at him questioningly. But just as soon as she felt it, it disappeared and the block stayed just as solid as it had before. She slowly leaned over and placed her head in her arms on the table.

.


	11. The More They Stay The Same

Author's Notes: Sorry guys! Real life got in the way, and then I got distracted by Homestuck, which is ridiculously long… it's almost on par with DBZ. Also this part gave me problems, so it got re-written a few times.

**Chapter 11 **

… The more they stay the same

.

He was in pain.

Dende could tell, though the older, foreboding Namekian did his best not to show it. He could see it, in the hunch of his shoulders, the way his face often wore a strained frown. In his head, when he allowed him to help.

He tried to help as much as he could, when Piccolo would let him, building the mental wall he kept up nearly permanently. Just the sheer effort was hurting him; perhaps even killing him… it would bring him to the point of quivering fatigue, so much so that when he stood he needed to press his hand to the wall to support himself. His only relief was when she slept, he'd meditate deeply - and Dende was unsure if even he'd be able to rouse him - only to start up again when she awoke.

Once he actually stumbled after a particularly long day and Dende rushed to his side, his hands glowing even though he knew that his healing powers didn't do much if the person he was healing wasn't injured. The slight energy did seem to bolster him somewhat and Piccolo steadied, and then placed his hand on Dende's shoulder, pushing him away gently. "I'm okay," he said.

Dende really didn't think that he was.

.

It got worse. One night he heard Piccolo make a rumbling groaning sound from the other room. He went to the other Namek, intent to help if he could. When he got there he saw Piccolo's brow was furrowed in deep concentration, his breathing off, like he was exerting energy physically. He reached out and placed his hand on Piccolo's cheek. What he didn't expect was for Piccolo to grab him suddenly and peer up at him, desperation and something else shining in his eyes. In his _unfocused_ eyes… and it was then that Dende realized he wasn't all there.

He didn't expect what happened next. Piccolo let out a throaty groan that didn't sound like him at all and he leaned forwards. He opened his mouth and embedded his fangs into Dende's shoulder as he clung to the smaller Namekian. The pain was unexpected and Dende gasped, stiffening in his arms.

Piccolo reacted right away, yanking away from him, leaning back against the wall. "I'm sorry, Dende, I…" he panted, still unfocused, trying desperately to regain control of himself. He suddenly let out a low groan and jerked, and Dende reached out again, dropping his staff as he caught him with both hands. He felt a twinge from his shoulder but he ignored it, his accelerated Namekian healing was already closing the wounds.

"Piccolo," he said softly, urgently. The older Namekian shook his head, then just as soon as it had come it passed, and Piccolo slumped back against the wall… limp but still panting.

"I… didn't mean…" he muttered.

"Here, let me," Dende said and he barely got a nod from Piccolo when he had a hand against his forehead, supplying the mental stability he needed to throw the block back up. The tension left the older Namekian immediately and his eyes slid half closed in exhaustion.

"What was it?" Dende asked as he drew his hand away. "Is Gohan okay?" if Piccolo was acting like that, there was a possibility that Gohan had been attacked.

Piccolo looked up at him and for the first time in a while Dende saw slight amusement on his face. "More than okay," he said finally, and a faint purple blush covered his cheeks. He looked away.

Dende raised both eye ridges. He couldn't see Gohan's side of the link from Piccolo's head but whatever he had been doing… and, oh.

Really? He gave Piccolo a curious look but the other Namekian still wouldn't look at him. Dende sighed. "If you need any more help…"

"I'll be fine, Dende," was the dismissive reply.

.

What Dende didn't expect was for Gohan to actually come to the Lookout three days later. She landed and straightened, her eyes meeting his. Dende was actually taken aback by the hard look in those eyes. "Hello, Dende," she greeted, her words clipped. "I'm here to talk to Piccolo."

She was angry, and he didn't have to be a god to figure that one out. "He's inside," he said after a moment of hesitation. Gohan made to march into the building and Dende actually felt a dart of fear hit him, and not for himself. Piccolo was weakened right now, and cared for her deeply. If she attacked him... "Gohan…" he called out.

Gohan stopped, her back rigid, though she did turn her head slightly to show that she was listening.

"He was only trying to help," Dende said finally.

Gohan nodded once, sharply, and continued to walk away.

.

"We need to talk," she said. She stood by the door of the room, hands clenched into fists by her sides. The expression on her face told her what he already knew from her mind, she was angry - furious actually. The aftermath of her discussion with Vegeta had stewed for two days. He had… hoped she would have dropped it. Instead the feelings of hurt, anger and betrayal had intensified to the point where there was a howling void in his mind, pummeling his senses, leaving him under constant attack. And now that she was here…

Piccolo winched and tried his best not to show it. He nodded and got to his feet slowly, doing his best to remain steady as he did so, and stand tall. "I sent you away for a reason," he said quietly.

"I did everything I was supposed to," she replied, her voice low. "I have a place to live, and people who will help me take care of the baby. What more do you want from me?"

He was silent. Briefly he shut his eyes, then opened them again. It was becoming increasingly difficult to concentrate and block her out.

"The only thing I'm missing is my best friend," she snapped, taking a step forward.

He looked up at her then, his brow knit. He took a step back despite himself. "Gohan…" he rumbled. He paused and shook his head. "You should go," he said, turning away.

"I'm not going anywhere until I get some sort of explanation," her fury spiked and he was suddenly and very acutely aware that she could lose control of herself. She was powering up as she strode into the room towards him, anger on her face matching the emotions in his head. He hunched in on himself, preparing for an attack. "Do you have ANY idea how much it hurts that you…"

And then she stopped cold, a few feet away from him, and the power building around her left as quickly as it had come. Her eyes widened.

He was shaking. It was barely noticeable… from a distance she wouldn't have seen it. For a long moment she stared, and then she stepped towards him, grabbing his arm.

He jerked away from her, a reflective action, which caused him to stumble, actually _stumble _and she caught his arm again, steadying him. "You're…" her brow furrowed. Deep concern hit her. "Piccolo, what's wrong?" she said, alarmed.

He resisted silently for a moment, scowling at her. "I'm fine…"

"You are _not_ fine," she retorted. And she could tell that he wasn't, the weariness was evident physically, even if she couldn't see into his mind. What the hell happened here? What was he hiding? "Drop the block," she said, and her voice held no room for argument.

He glared and she glared back, jaw set stubbornly. /Let me in,/ she said mentally, pushing against the wall in her mind. She could practically feel it crack, his concentration wavering. She stopped when she saw him wince and her eyes widened again. "It's hurting you?" she demanded to know.

He was silent, but the guilt in his eyes told her everything she needed to know. Her grip on his arm tightened. "Piccolo, drop the block, _please_."

He drew in a deep breath, then looked away.

The block dropped.

She could see _everything_.

"Oh my god," Gohan breathed, stunned as exhaustion that wasn't her own overwhelmed her. "Piccolo…" She came around to his front and took his arms in her hands, and then reached up, hugging him fiercely, her eyes tightly shut. He let her, too tired to do anything but really, slumping against a wall.

Her hand found his shoulder, her hand knotting into the fabric of his cape. "You were in pain," she said in a low voice as she shifted through his memories of the last three weeks. "God, Piccolo," she exclaimed. "Why would you DO that to yourself?"

"You _know_ why," he replied, his voice sounding just as tired as he felt.

She sucked a deep breath through her teeth. She pulled away so she could look him in the eyes. "Don't EVER do that again," she said, and just a bit of the anger she had felt before welled up again. He felt alarm and she felt it to, which made her anger leave just as quickly as it came. He realized dully that they were on a feedback loop… they would remain on one until he put the block up again.

She sighed, deeply, and pulled away from him only to reposition them both so her head rested on his shoulder. "If you knew I was coming and you knew I was angry, why didn't you just drop the block before I arrived?" she asked quietly. "If I knew half of what I know now…"

He was silent. She turned her head to the side, then pulled back. She studied him for a moment, then leaned up and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "I love you," she said.

He wouldn't look at her. "That might change," he replied quietly.

"No, actually, it won't," she said, set her jaw. "Piccolo, you're my best friend. I've loved you since I was _four_. That isn't just going to change any, no matter what my body looks like on the outside."

He shifted then turned his head to look at her. She was surprised at the deep, intense sorrow in his eyes and radiating from the link. "What…?" she began.

He reached up and threaded his claws through her short hair and she could feel the faint tremble in his hand. "I'm sorry," he said, his voice low and gruff. "For hurting you again."

"It's okay," she replied. Her shoulders slumped with relief. For some reason hearing him apologize made her feel better. A lot better. "I'm okay." She reached up and removed the hand from her head, holding it in her own much smaller hands. It was shaking, just the smallest bit, but he was trying to keep it as still as he could, letting her hold it. She looked up at him. His eyes were half lidded. She brought her hand up to touch the side of his face as he looked back at her. When he blinked it was slow. "You're not okay, though," she said with concern.

"I'm fine," he replied in an affronted rumble.

He was lying again. She could feel his consciousness graying out along the edges of her mind. She was really worried for a half a second, but when he felt no concern himself she realized what it was. He was passing out. Not because he was injured, but because he was so exhausted he couldn't stay conscious any longer.

"Where do you sleep?" she asked. She got to her feet and brought him with her. The amount of weight he placed on her shoulder was telling.

"I don't sleep," he replied, and she knew that was true, he meditated and possibly napped, cross-legged while hovering in the air or sitting on the ground. Somehow she didn't think that'd be enough this time.

"Come on," she said, and she dragged him out of the room. She was hopeful as she made for the room where he had put her on the night he had taken her out of the Time Chamber. Sure enough, the mattress was still there, in fact it had been upgraded to a large double bed in her absence. She raised an eyebrow at it.

"Mr. Popo," Piccolo elaborated, reading her thoughts. "For guests."

She nodded. "For you tonight," she corrected, pushing him into it.

"Gohan, I really don't need…" he began and she shook her head, climbing into the bed with him.

"Try," she replied, curling up against his side. "Or close your eyes and meditate on your back. Whatever," she said.

He sighed and shut his eyes. Not unexpectedly within thirty seconds the link had grayed out the rest of the way. He was deeply asleep.

She sighed herself, with relief, and set about tucking him in… tugging off his turban and then the heavy shoulder pads. Thankfully she had her strength back, she thought, as she had to bodily move him around to remove the cape. Being as large as he was, he weighed quite a lot. She found it telling that he didn't even twitch as removed his outer layers. Once he was down to his normal gi and lying peacefully on his back she sighed and laid next to him.

Dende came to the doorway a short time later, looking awkward as he stood there, shifting uncomfortably. Gohan smiled at her old friend. "He's okay," she said, then considered and amended. "Well, he's alive at least. I think he's just sleeping. You can check him if you want."

Dende flashed a grateful smile and came over. The small god placed his hand against the older Namekian's forehead, his hand glowing briefly before he pulled it away again. He looked relieved. "His mind and body are repairing," he said, glancing up at Gohan. Gohan winced.

"I wish one of you had told me he was torturing himself," she grumbled. "I would have come a lot sooner."

Dende gave her a sad smile. "He wouldn't have let me," he said.

Gohan nodded and sighed again, frustrated. "I know, I know," she said. She lay back down, carefully placing her head on his chest.

"Gohan," Dende said, giving her a small smile. She raised her head a bit to look at him. "I'm glad you came," he said.

Gohan smiled at him and nodded. "I'll try to talk some sense into him when he wakes up again," she replied and Dende laughed.

"Good luck," the god said as he turned to leave the room.

Gohan sighed. She inspected the far wall as she listened to the slow steady beat of Piccolo's alien heart.

This was all Vegeta's fault, she thought as her eyes closed. If he hadn't yelled at her, or worse yet, threatened to go to Piccolo himself she probably would have allowed this to continue. She shuddered to think of what would have happened. If Piccolo was in this bad of shape after three weeks, how would he have been after eight months? Would he have died? The thought of not having him around at all terrified her and left her with a suffocating feeling of loss.

.

He woke up by degrees, becoming consciously aware of the fact that he was on his back, which was very odd, unless he had been attacked and knocked out. The way he felt - every part of him ached - that was a distinct possibility.

There was also a weight on his chest. He frowned and, without opening his eyes, brought his hand up. It hit hair.

His eyes flew open.

Oh.

She was lying across his chest, half on top of him, arm wrapped about her torso. She was waking up as well, he could feel her as she swam into consciousness. Automatically he threw up a mental wall.

She tightened her hold on him. "No block," she muttered sleepily and nestled closer, burrowing into his chest.

He froze at the sound of her voice. For a panicked moment he didn't know what to do, before common sense kicked in and he realized he'd better do as she said. Everything was for naught anyway. She had come back and changed everything in very short order.

He sighed and dropped the block completely, closing his eyes against the swell of emotions from her. /Gohan,/ he greeted her in her head.

A flood of contented happiness hit him in response. It made him feel guilty, which he forced back. He still believed he had done this to her, though she very much believed she was acting completely independently of any influence…

Her eyes opened. "I think you're dwelling too much on it," she said. She raised her head and solemn black eyes met his. "I appreciate that you're trying to look out for me," she said. "But I can think for myself now. Stop torturing yourself because you think it'll be best for me."

His brow knit.

"I know," she cut him off before he could speak. "It's hard for you," she added.

"I never meant…"

"I know," she repeated. She scooted up until she was lying beside him, her face beside his. She reached out, stroking the side of his face with her hand before leaning forwards and pressing a chaste kiss to his cheek. She then rested her chin against his shoulder. Contentment continued to thrum through the bond - contentment and a little bit of worry.

"I want my friend back," she said after a while, her voice very quiet.

His face didn't show anything but mentally he flinched. She half hugged him then, putting her arms around him, her mind giving him wordless reassurances.

He brought a hand up and covered her hand with his own.

"Can you keep the block up occasionally without it hurting you?" she asked after some time had passed.

He grunted in the affirmative.

"I won't be offended if you want to be alone," she said. "Just please don't freeze me out completely again."

He looked and felt relieved and she chuckled softly. /Just talk to me,/ she sent. /Every now and then./

/I will,/ he replied and she smiled, brilliantly.

They were both quiet for a long while. He was still thinking, turning everything over in his mind. "I won't live here," she said after a moment, addressing one of the concerns. "My life is anything but normal already, but I can fly here in a half an hour. Who says I can't live on Earth, and go to school and visit you as much as I'd like?" she paused, then continued dryly. "And I'm about to become a parent, so it's not like I'm going to miss out on that part of human existence."

He sighed and nodded. At the same time she could hear his thoughts. He was still worried.

She sat up suddenly, turning somber eyes to him. "I know you sent me back to Earth and cut me off because you thought it would be helpful. I get that. I was broken then, but I'm not any more. You know that as much as I do. I know what I'm getting into, Piccolo."

His eyes narrowed slightly and the discontent feeling grew.

"Is it so hard to believe I want to be with you?" she asked earnestly.

He was silent for a moment. "Gohan I'm not… I can't…" he paused and gathered his thoughts, frowning. "I'm not Saiyan," he said finally. "Or human," he continued.

"I know, the green skin and pointy ears kind of give it away," she said teasingly after a moment, unable to let that one pass.

She felt a flash of exasperation from him. "Gohan…" /It's not just that,/ he thought at her and then he sighed and came out with it. "I can't give you what Vegeta can give you," she was about to protest when his thoughts told her very clearly what Vegeta had already mentioned back a couple weeks before.

Oh.

_Ohhhh_…

"It's okay," she said soberly. "There are other ways to do things," she said, and thought about the Time Chamber.

He was silent for a moment before he spoke again in a low voice. "… Is it enough?" he asked, and her heart leapt. He wasn't actually turning her down for once. He looked up at her again, giving her a very serious look. "Gohan, if we're going to do this, that's all I can give you."

She peered at him a small smile on her face, and then leaned forwards, reaching up to cup the edge of his jaw in her palm before slowly leaning in to press her lips to his. He stiffened momentarily, then relaxed into it, letting her kiss him. She brushed the side of her thumb against his cheek affectionately before pulling away again. "Does that answer your question?" she asked.

He raised an eyebrow ridge. "No," he replied, sardonically.

Oh, it answered his question fine, she knew, he just thought she was deliberately ignoring the fact that he was ill equipped to be any sort of partner for her, and the faint, underlying fear that he might have messed up her mind somehow, even after cutting her off completely for weeks. She had a feeling that wasn't going to fade any time soon, but she was intent on ignoring it.

She stopped herself from rolling her eyes and instead watched him quietly. He shifted, uncomfortable under her stare, and looked away, then looked back again. She grinned slowly, and leaned forward to capture his mouth with her own again, much more aggressively this time. For a moment he balked again, then gave in completely.

He kissed her back just as hard, mirroring her actions. She held onto him as his hand came up to clasp the back of her head, his tongue twinning against her own. The feeling was back, the fluttering in the pit of her stomach and the feeling below that so far only he and Vegeta had managed to inspire. He felt it too, and she felt his mild surprise. He wrenched away suddenly, leaned back to stare at her as he panted.

"Link," she said, though she didn't need to, he knew where it was from. The connection meant everything she felt he felt too. This… could be more than a little fun. She leaned forwards and nipped at his neck gently before pulling away again and tilted her chin up slightly. His eyes narrowed briefly as he looked at her, then he grasped her arms and leaned forwards to do the exact same thing to her, elongated canines scraping slightly over her bared throat. She shivered and his hands tightened on her arms briefly. He did it again, bit down harder this time and she let out a gasp and jerked against his hold. He let out an answering throaty growl. He moved his head to the side and bit down into the junction where her shoulder met her neck, this time hard enough to draw blood. The pleasure she felt echoing through the link was not her own, but it amplified the sensation, and she clung to him, panting. When he pulled away he licked his lips and gave her a reproachful look. She could see there was blood on them.

"You enjoyed that far more than I would expect," she said as she struggled to catch her breath. She brought her hand up to press to the small wounds. "I suppose the canines have a purpose after all?" It struck her as funny that somehow this was what Namekians found enjoyable. So… what? They were alien vampires?

He looked more confused than anything and raised a hand touch one of his canines with the pad of a finger. "I have no idea," he confessed. He reached out for her neck, concern growing as the pleasure faded. "I can get Dende to heal that…"

"Are you kidding?" Gohan replied, eyes wide. "No way, that was fun. We should definitely do that more often… I heal fast. Half-Saiyan, remember?"

He frowned slightly but didn't push it. She watched as he licked his lips again, then eyed her neck.

"Go ahead," she offered. He hesitated, then leaned forwards, lapping at the blood that still leaked from the wounds. She sighed softly, her head tilted back. He definitely had a thing for that, the low hum of contentment from him was telling. Her mind wandered as he licked and kissed away. Why on earth would Namekians - or even just Piccolo - find biting a turn on? She remembered his own memory when he had bit Dende unintentionally when she had accidently overwhelmed his senses, neither Namekian had thought anything of it at the time. What if it had something to do with reproduction? The neck – oh, his throat, what if…

Piccolo pulled away quickly, hand coming up to grasp his own neck in alarm. "I hope not," he said, his eyes wide.

Gohan laughed at the expression on his face. "If it is you can be the new Guru," she said. "Restart the Namekian race."

The sour look he gave her WAS funny.

"Oh, just give it to Dende to raise," she said. "And it would be cool to have more of you guys running around."

He shook his head quickly. "Absolutely not," he glanced at her stomach. "We already have one child to worry about," he said.

She grinned at him. "But my child won't be Namekian," she pointed out.

He growled at her softly and learned forwards to kiss her savagely. "And now you're changing the subject," she said with a breathless laugh when he pulled away again.

He grasped her shoulders and pushed her down on the bed and kissed her again.

When he pulled away again it was to lie back on the bed. He took her with him, rolling so that she was lying on top of him.

This time he did wrap his arms around her, holding her.

She smiled at that and relaxed by degrees. A hand came up and hesitantly began to pet her hair again and she made a contented sound in the back of her throat and nestled closer. She missed this.

So much.

For now, she thought, this was the place she wanted to be more than anything. Safe and secure in the arms of someone who loved her more than anything else in the known universe. Even if he was really bad at showing it.

.

She gave Vegeta a spontaneous kiss on the cheek once she got back.

"What are you _do_ –" he exploded, then stopped as quickly as he had begun. "… you spoke with the Namekian, didn't you?" he said.

She grinned. "Yup!" she replied cheerfully.

He rolled his eyes. "About damn time," he grumbled.

.


End file.
